A Guide to the Work Projects Administration of Virginia Records, 1939-1943 Work Projects Administration of Virginia Records, 1939-1943 30432

A Guide to the Work Projects Administration of Virginia Records, 1939-1943

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 30432


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Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/

© 2009 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: Chad Underwood

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Accession Number
30432
Title
Work Projects Administration of Virginia Records, 1939-1943
Extent
186.55 cubic feet (554 boxes)
Creator
Work Projects Administration of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

THIS COLLECTION IS LOCATED AT THE STATE RECORDS CENTER. CONTACT ARCHIVES RESEARCH SERVICES FOR ACCESS INFORMATION, DIRECTIONS, AND HOURS.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Work Projects Administration of Virginia. Records, 1939-1943. Accession 30432. Federal records collections, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

The collection came to the Library of Virginia in five accessions. The bulk of the collection came in one accession: Transferred to the Library, 22 July 1942 (Accession 30432). This accession (30432) is used to describe and identify the entire collection.

At later dates other intergral WPA records were donated to the Library of Virginia and are interfiled within the larger collection.

Transferred from General Library, Richmond, Virginia, February 1976 (Accession 28871).

Gift of University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, June 1982 (Accession 31440).

Transferred from General Library, Richmond, Virginia, August 1984 (Accession 32167).

Donor information unavailable (Accession 36002).

Historical Information

The Work Projects Administration (known as the Works Progress Administration until 1 July 1939) was established by an executive order of 6 May 1935, as the agency responsible for the execution of the United States government's work-relief program as a whole. Before this the federal government had participated in the relief program through the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), set up under an act of 12 May 1933, and the Civil Works Administration, established by an executive order of 9 November 1933, the two agencies having a common administrator. With the abolition of the Civil Works Administration in March 1934, the records of the agency were transferred to the Emergency Work Relief Program of the FERA, which continued in existence until December 1935. The administration of work relief, however, was taken over by the WPA when that agency was created in May 1935. Under the President's Reorganization Plan No. I, effective on 1 July 1939, the WPA was made part of the Federal Works Agency. The WPA was officially abolished on 30 June 1943.

The WPA in Virginia constructed roads, such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and buildings on college campuses. The WPA also created jobs for those with other talents such as writers, who were put to work completing surveys of historical records of the Commonwealth and collecting the life histories of Virginians, including ones who formerly had been slaves.

Scope and Content

The following is a preliminary inventory and finding aid. The collection is not fully processed but is available to patrons at the State Records Center. Records, 1939-1943, of the Work Projects Administration of Virginia documenting its efforts to provide relief jobs for artists, musicians, actors, and white-collar and professional workers during the Great Depression. While many jobs created by the federal government during this period were primarily construction work, repair work, and other manual labor jobs, the WPA also established federal art, music, theater and writers' projects to provide relief jobs for unemployed clerks, writers, editors, lawyers, teachers, librarians, and similar workers. This collection contains various surveys and writing projects such as oral histories, abstracts and transcripts of court records, published books, radio plays, and state histories. Of note are the Virginia Writers' Project Life Histories, which recorded the life stories of men and women from a variety of regions, occupations, and ethnic groups and include over 300 slave narratives. Also of note are the Historical Records Survey, Virginia Historical Inventory, a collection of photographs, maps, and detailed reports documenting the architectural, cultural, and family histories of thousands of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in communities across Virginia.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

I. Historical Records Survey II. Virginia Writers' Project III. Clipping Files IV. Photographs V. Miscellaneous Files

Contents List

Series I. Historical Records Survey .

This series consists of seven subseries: 1. Inventories of Counties and Cities; 2. Inventories of State; 3. Church Records; 4. Production Files; 5. Court Abstracts and Transcripts; 6. Miscellaneous Programs; and 7. Virginia Historical Inventory.

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II. Virginia Writers Project .

This series consists of eleven subseries: 1. Historical Files; 2. Handbook of Procedures; 3. Radio Plays; 4. Life Histories; 5. Biographical Files; 6. Mimeographed Pamphlets; 7. Manuscripts of Published Works; 8. Statewide History; 9. Unfinished Books; 10. Printed Books; and 11. Feature Articles.

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Series III. Clipping Files .

Consists of newspaper clippings from various Virginia daily and weekly newspapers.

Arranged alphabetically by city or county name, with miscellaneous arranged to the front.

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Series IV. Photographs .

This series consists of photographs taken of various W.P.A. projects including sewage construction in Prince George and Westmoreland Counties, demolition of Virginia Hall at Virginia State College, and installation of storm drains in Norfolk County.

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Series V. Miscellaneous Files .
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