Work Projects Administration records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-1027

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records, 1935-1948, of the Work Projects Administration (WPA), previously Works Progress Administration, projects in Houghton County, Michigan. Included in the collection is correspondence, bulletins, and memorandums related to employee work assignments, pay, safety, and reemployment. A substantial portion of the correspondence is addressed to individuals with the role of watchman, a precinct captain or committeeman who would visit project locations at least once nightly. Many of the letters are addressed to watchman William Becker of Chassell, Michigan.

Also included in the collection are employee forms, including notices to report to work and notices of termination of employment. These forms include the employee’s name, address, and the time, date, and location of work within the county. Other records found within the collection include Houghton County maps, injury reports, purchase orders; as well as time books, payroll conversion tables, and salary rates.

Dates

1935-1948

Creator

United States. Work Projects Administration (1939-1943) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Available for use in the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

Various copying restrictions apply. Guidelines are available from Michigan Technological University Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections.

Historical Note

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an employment and infrastructure program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt under the New Deal plan in 1935. Over its eight years of existence during the Great Depression, the WPA employed approximately 8.5 million Americans in public works infrastructure projects throughout the United States. Largely employing unskilled men, the WPA was responsible for the construction of new school buildings, hospitals, and bridges; as well as major roadworks such as paving roads and the installation of storm drains and sanitary sewer lines. Other projects conducted by the WPA were in the arts and employed artists, writers, musicians, and actors across the country. The Works Progress Administration was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939.

Extent

0.81 cubic feet (3 manuscript boxes and two oversize folders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Records, 1935-1948, of the Work Projects Administration (WPA), previously Works Progress Administration, projects in Houghton County, Michigan.

Related Materials

Related materials providing documentation of WPA activities in Keweenaw County may be found in the Michigan Tech Archives’ State Archives Collection RG 67-60A, RECORDS RELATING TO WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION AND EMERGENCY WELFARE RELIEF ADMINISTRATION, 1935, 1938-1939. These include lists of cases, informational bulletins, notes, telegrams, letters in and copies of letters out relating to welfare aid.