Click on the images below to see them in our online catalog.
If you were to take a walk along the East Ferry waterfront in September 1938, right after the 1938 Hurricane, you would see the following sight.
The reconstruction of our East Ferry waterfront was begun and supported by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
The WPA was the largest and the most diverse of the New Deal Public Works programs. It was created to alleviate the mass unemployment of the Great Depression and by the time it was terminated in 1943, the WPA had put 8.5 million Americans including many Jamestowners back to work.
From 1940 to 2007, one of the iconic structures of Jamestown was the Jamestown Bridge. It was built from 1939 through 1940 with funds from the WPA and by builders from Jamestown.
The back of the postcard reads –
“The bridge was built and operated as a toll bridge by the Jamestown Bridge Commission from July 27, 1940 to June 28, 1969, the day the Newport Bridge opened; it then became toll free and part of the State highway system. Construction took 18 months for the 6,982 foot bridge – the longest in New England at that time. The cost of $3,002,218 (45% paid for with a grant from the Public Works Administration and 55% from sale of revenue bonds) had been estimated at $3,120,000. A replacement bridge is to be completed by May, 1992.”
In total, there are seven sites in Jamestown that were constructed or repaired by Jamestown workers with funds provided by the WPA. In addition to the East Ferry waterfront improvement (4) and the Jamestown Bridge (1), they are –
New athletic fields on Lawn Avenue (2),
Projects proposed by the town of Jamestown, which included upgrade of town roads (3),
Stone walls along the eastern end of High Street (5),
Multiple improvement & development projects at Fort Getty (6), including road construction and building improvements,
Multiple improvement and development projects at
Fort Wetherill (7), including construction, painting, the repair of a wharf and building improvements.
For more information about all WPA projects, see the Living New Deal website, livingnewdeal.org
For other images of WPA and Jamestown, in the JHS Collection, click here.
