West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Arthurdale, West Virginia, was the first Federal homestead community established under President Franklin Roosevelt during
the New Deal. Two scrapbooks, available on microfilm only, document the history of Arthurdale, West Virginia, from 1935 to
1975. Photographs, newspaper clippings, fact sheets about the community, and event programs offer insight into the development
of the town, the involvement of Eleanor Roosevelt, students, and reflections on life in Arthurdale. Photographs and clippings
on Volume I are chiefly from the 1930s and 1940s. Event programs come from a Labor Day celebration in 1938 and the Mountain
Choir Festival in 1946. Book II contains clippings and photographs from the 1940s to the mid-1970s. These chiefly pertain
to the Arthurdale church and high school students.
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Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Arthurdale, West Virginia Scrapbooks, A&M 2942, West Virginia and Regional
History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Arthurdale, West Virginia, was the first Federal homestead community established under President Franklin Roosevelt during
the New Deal. Located in Preston County, and named after Richard Arthur, the former owner of the land on which was the community
was built in 1933, Arthurdale was created to relocate poor farmers, laborers, and coal miners to a rural community that would
eventually become economically self-sufficient. This community became a priority for Eleanor Roosevelt, who was deeply involved
in the establishment of the town. In 1941 the town was returned to private ownership. Arthurdale is now a national historic
district.