The most well known of all the agencies, especially in Oklahoma, Works Progress Administration or WPA has the most distinctive structures throughout the state. Once described  by Dr. W. David Baird, chairmen of the Oklahoma State University History department, “the poor man’s architecture”, most of the structures built by the WPA was to help the community. Different from the previous works agencies of Public Works Administration (PWA) and Civilian Works Administration (CWA) the WPA funding was for the labor and did not differentiate to the type of project. First established after President Roosevelt’s “right hand man” and director of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Harry Hopkins who suggested to the President that the current works administration of 1933-1935 was not employing enough of the unemployed and therefore a program must be established that was more aggressive.  On May 6, 1935 the President signed executive order 7034 that established the WPA with a goal of employing those people on the relief rolls and naming Harry Hopkins as its director. The major difference between the WPA and PWA/CWA was that the WPA money would be provided for labor on the projects and the local government agencies that requested the money would provide at least 10% of the cost. The official requirements were:

  1. The project had to be useful. The project had to fulfill a need within the community such as a new school, park, water/sewage services, or community center.
  2. The project had to be sponsored by a public body such as a city, county, or school district. The sponsor was responsible of providing part of the total cost, usually between ten and twenty-five percent and could request a no interest loan from the government to provide the cost or bond issue.
  3. The sponsor was also responsible for providing location, materials, and skilled labors to supervise.
  4. Ninety percent of the laborers had to come from employable persons who were on the relief rolls.

Only lasting for 8 years (1935 – 1943) the improvements and the amount for work performed is amazing and not only employed unskilled, employable people that were destitute by the economic depression but it left a lasted impression of future communities. National you can see some of these structures by looking at the St Louis Archway, St. Louis Missouri, the Hoover Dam, Nevada, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. But locally look to the dams, bridges, roads, airports, schools, armories, and even privies. As Dr. Baird state in his survey, “Among other things, they were mute reminders of the emotional distress and physical pain many Oklahoman’s suffered during the 1930s and of an enlightened relief effort by the federal government that alleviated much of that suffering”. Many of the skills that those laborers learn while working on WPA projects would then be used for the rest of their lives and played a major role during World War II.

Among the major construction accomplishments of the WPA were the building or improving of 651,000 miles of roads, the erection or improvement of 125,110 building such as schools, armories, etc., the installation of over 16,100 miles of water mains and distribution lines, the installation of 24,300 miles of sewerage facilities, and the construction and improvement of many airport facilities, including landing fields, runways, and terminal. Today are many reminders of some of those structures either by looking for armories, schools, ditches, dams, roads, bridges, and more. Many are not aware those structures are WPA built structures until they either find the WPA stamp or research into the history of the structure. Most people will identify the armories since there were 54 armories throughout the state that were built by the WPA, nationally there was 126 armories built.

Although the structures are the reminders of the WPA there were also during those 8 years’ service related projects that employed all people with different skills. One such project was the Federal Project #1 that specifically was for the arts, providing stage plays, painting classes and projects, open concerts, and the creation and publishing of the WPA American Guide Series for Oklahoma title “The Sooner State”. Other service projects included school lunches, child-health centers, recreation centers and literacy classes, horse-back libraries, etc.

Oklahoma’s part in the final $10 billion dollar project included approximately 3,000 structures that left a lasted impression on the landscape that has been enjoyed by generations that is coming up on 100 years.

Sources:

1 Final Report WPA Structures Thematic Survey (Phase III), W. David Baird, Oklahoma State University, August 30, 1987.

2. Final Report on The WPA Program 1935-43, George H. Fields 1946

3. Keith L. Bryant, Jr., “New Deal,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org (accessed July 01, 2018).