NPS Form 10-900-b OMB No. 1024-0018 (Revised March 1992) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. X New Submission Amended Submission A. Name of Multiple Property Listing New Deal Resources on Colorado’s Eastern Plains B. Associated Historic Contexts (Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.) I. Roosevelt’s Alphabet Army: 1933-1943 II. The CCC and the SCS in Eastern Colorado: 1935-1942 III. The PWA – Building a Framework for Eastern Colorado: 1933-1942 IV. The WPA – Work for Everyone: 1935-1942 C. Form Prepared by name/title Deon Wolfenbarger, Survey Coordinator organization Colorado Preservation Inc. date September 23, 2005 street & number 300 W. Colfax Avenue, Suite 300 telephone 303-893-4260 city or town Denver state CO zip code 80202 D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation. (See continuation sheet for additional comments [ ].) Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Signature and title of certifying official Date State or Federal agency and bureau I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register. Signature of the Keeper Date of Action New Deal Resources on Colorado’s Eastern Plains Colorado Name of Multiple Property Listing State Table of Contents for Written Narrative Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers according to the instructions for continuation sheet in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below. Page Numbers E. Statement of Historic Contexts 1 (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) Roosevelt’s Alphabet Army: 1933-1943 18 The CCC and the SCS in Eastern Colorado: 1935-1942 30 The PWA – Building a Framework for Eastern Colorado: 1933-1942 43 The WPA – Work for Everyone: 1935-1942 56 F. Associated Property Types 88 (Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.) G. Geographical Data 116 H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 117 (Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.) I. Major Bibliographical References 121 (List major written works and primary location of additional documentation: State Historic Preservation Office, other State agency, Federal agency, local government, university, or other, specifying repository.) Primary location of additional data: [X] State Historic Preservation Office [X] Other State Agency [X] Federal Agency [X] Local Government [ ] University [ ] Other Name of repository: National Archives and Records Administration; College Park, MD Stephen Hart Library, Colorado State Historical Society Western History and Genealogy Division, Denver Public Library Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 120 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 2050 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET New Deal Resources on Section number E Page 1 Colorado’s Eastern Plains This multiple property listing is organized around the built resources that resulted from numerous federal programs of the “New Deal” era on Colorado’s eastern plains. While the entire nation suffered from the economic crisis of the Great Depression, the portion of Colorado that lies in the plains region faced additional crises, including the agricultural depression, drought, dust storms, and even grasshopper plagues. President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs were developed initially to provide relief to the destitute in all parts of the nation, but grew to include special reform and recovery programs and policies for agriculture and areas such as the Dust Bowl. This multiple property submission provides a context for understanding the conditions that eastern Colorado endured during the “dirty thirties,” and a basis for evaluating the physical resources that were constructed as a result of the federal New Deal programs. It includes information on extant resources from 1933 through 1943, based partly upon a field survey in four eastern Colorado counties. The following historic contexts developed for this Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) cover those New Deal programs which were initiated to provide relief through work projects to either improve or construct public works. Although public works programs were only part of the numerous New Deal policies and programs that were initiated in the years following the Great Depression, they are significant for the resulting built resources in the Plains counties of Colorado. There were numerous other New Deal programs which also affected life in eastern Colorado during the Depression years; they are briefly mentioned in the introductory background section. I. Roosevelt’s Alphabet Army: 1933-1943 II. The CCC and the SCS in Eastern Colorado: 1935-1942 III. The PWA – Building a framework for Eastern Colorado: 1933-1942 IV. The WPA – Work for Everyone: 1935-1942 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET New Deal Resources on Section number E Page 2 Colorado’s Eastern Plains Historical Background The onset of the Great Depression is often associated with October 29, 1929, historically referred to as “Black Tuesday.” In reality, the conditions leading up to the nation’s economic collapse had been evident for years. Between September and November 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Index did lose fully one-half of its value, from 452 to 224. As the depression continued to worsen into the early 1930s, the index fell to 58. Coinciding with the plummeting stock market was a dramatic increase in unemployment. In January 1930, there were approximately 4 million Americans without jobs. By December of that year, the number rose to 7 million. By early 1933, the number of unemployed doubled again when over one in four Americans was out of work. While the stock market crash served as both the symbolic beginning of the Great Depression and its most visible early manifestation, depression had stalked parts of Colorado for nearly a decade. Unlike much of the rest of the nation, Colorado’s economy never really recovered after the downturn following the boom years of World War I. Both mining and agriculture had grown during the flush years when high commodity prices had encouraged increased production. Farmers were induced to convert dry lands into plowed fields for quick profits; as a result, wheat acreage in the state had tripled between 1913 and 1919.1 The period experienced increased rainfall resulting in large harvests. When prices fell after the war, though, Colorado’s agricultural boom dissipated. The mining industry had suffered a similar fate, with growth in the early decades of the twentieth century followed by plunging metal prices between 1920 and 1930. Nonetheless, immediately after the stock market crash, Coloradans remained stoic, if not exactly hopeful about the future. Agricultural prices had been slowly improving by the time of the stock market crash, although they still had not recovered to their prewar records. Farmers generally believed that with continued good crops, their personal financial situation would surely improve, even though this required increased production, more efficient machinery, and greater acreage of plowed fields. In 1929 there were just a few signs statewide of the impending economic catastrophe in Colorado. Employees