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WPA: By Travis Marak T


The Davenport Cemetery Chapel on Rt. 66 was completed by the WPA in 1939. Photos by Travis Marak


hey are some of the state’s most unique and iconic structures: Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City, Tucker Tower at Lake Murray, and the Holy City of the Wichitas near Lawton, Okla. These structures—along with nearly 300 other public buildings, parks,


water towers and roads—were built by the Works Progress Administra- tion (WPA) from 1935 to 1943 during the height of Great Depression in Oklahoma.


On April 8, 1935, Congress approved the formation of the WPA, the


most encompassing of Pres. Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policies. One week later, on April 14, a massive wall of dust, known commonly as “Black Sunday,” barreled across the Oklahoma Panhandle in the middle of the day, blocking out the sun and burying wheat crops in what would become the state’s largest and most devastating dust storm. At the time the WPA arrived in Oklahoma, an estimated 30 percent of the state’s employable population was out of work with near 50 percent jobless in the worst hit parts of the state. Many were packing bags and cars to leave. “The WPA brought the idea of let’s create work, let’s get people off the


welfare rows, let’s put food on the table, put a little cash in their pocket, give people hope and keep them in Oklahoma,” says Dr. Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society. “It made a real impact and the legacy is around us today.” Oklahoma was a young state at the time and took full advantage of grant funds made available by the WPA. During its eight-year tenure in Oklahoma, the WPA employed 119,000 workers who would have been otherwise jobless. They built schools, city halls, jails, public pools and bathhouses, water towers, courthouses, libraries and music halls. They also vastly improved the state’s undeveloped road system including build- ing state highways and the construction of rural farm-to-market roads. Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative member Lisa Hefner is currently


researching and updating Pottawatomie County WPA records for the Oklahoma Historical Society. She says jobs provided by the WPA enabled workers to learn new skills while providing food and income for their families and adding much-needed infrastructure to their communities. “The WPA impacted the rural areas through several programs that


trained workers with skills they could use with or without the program. Brick and rock laying are evident to this day on buildings, houses and streets that are still in use,” Hefner says. She adds the main impact was the 26 school buildings completed in


This small castle in McKinley Park in Oklahoma City was constructed by the WPA of native red sandstone.


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Pottawatomie County alone, many of which are still being utilized. “Construction provided employment opportunities for men made des- titute by the Depression and facilitated the educational process by pro- viding an environment conducive to learning for children,” she says.


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