New Deal Accomplishment: Over 1,100 projects to build or improve cemeteries


Above: "God's Acre," a painting by Julian Levi (1900-1982), created while he was in the WPA, between 1935 and 1943. Image from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.


Above: The description for this WPA photograph, taken around 1936, reads: "Ohio - Project, sponsored by the city of Toledo, provided for construction of a retaining wall necessary to protect graves and tombstones which were in danger if the bank wore away much more. The curb of concrete, provided by the project, was needed to divert water into proper channels, for the same reason, the cemetery being quite hilly, the work, which also included construction of a concrete gutter and installation of 1,000 feet of tile drainage, was started Jan. 10, 1936, and completed July 24, 1936." Photo from the National Archives.


Above: The WPA constructed this building at a cemetery in Ashtabula Township, Ohio, 1936, to provide restrooms for the public and a workspace for the caretaker of the cemetery. Photo from the National Archives.


Above: One of the more impressive WPA cemetery projects was the Baltimore National Cemetery. From about 1937-1940, WPA workers cleared land, moved trees, and landscaped in preparation for the burial plots; constructed buildings; installed a flag pole (seen above); put up fencing, retaining walls, and a rostrum (see next photo); and placed water and sewer lines. Photo from the University of Maryland College Park Archives.


Above: The WPA-built stone rostrum at Baltimore National Cemetery. Photo by Brent McKee, 2011.


Above: The WPA-constructed Baltimore National Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016 (see NRHP entry here). Photo by Brent McKee, 2011.


Above: Many WPA cemetery projects involved beautifying the grounds, for example, clearing unwanted vegetation and resetting headstones. Here is a municipal cemetery in Centreville, Maryland, after a WPA cleanup job, between 1935 and 1943. Photo from the University of Maryland College Park Archives.


Above: Many cemeteries in America are in need of repair and renovation, such as this one in Lonaconing, Maryland. Across the nation, there are many admirable efforts to restore neglected cemeteries. However, it would take a new WPA--or a similar well-funded public initiative--to do the job more thoroughly. For interesting articles on the issue, see: "Killeen residents demand accountability for city cemetery maintenance," 25 ABC (Waco, Texas), June 3, 2025; "City of Duncan purchases long neglected cemetery," ABC 7 News, KSWO (Lawton, Oklahoma), October 22, 2024; and "City of Fort Smith tables decision on upkeep of cemeteries," 40/29 News (Rogers, Arkansas), August 20, 2025. Photo by Brent McKee, October 2025.


Above: The New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA) also provided funds for cemetery projects, such as the restoration of this building at the Antietam National Cemetery in Maryland, ca. 1934. Photo from the National Park Service.


Above: WPA workers also worked at Antietam National Cemetery. These men are working on the wall around the cemetery, ca. 1938. Photo from the National Park Service.


Above: The PWA financed several projects at Arlington National Cemetery, such as this Memorial Entrance, ca. 1934. Photo from the National Archives.


Above: Formerly jobless Americans, in the New Deal's Civil Works Administration (CWA) carried out many cemetery improvement projects. This photo comes from The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa), December 9, 1933, p. 12. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.


Above: The New Deal's National Youth Administration (NYA) worked in many cemeteries too, but the total number is not clear. This clipping is from The Freeport Journal-Standard (Freeport, Illinois), May 24, 1938, p. 13. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Honoring our fallen, our veterans, our ancestors

Between 1934 and 1935, the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed or improved 331 cemeteries. During its first 4 and a half years of existence--July 1935 through December 1939--the WPA built 17 new cemeteries, and carried out 816 other projects to improve existing cemeteries. Unfortunately, more comprehensive statistics--for example, from the PWA, CWA, NYA, and the latter years of the WPA--are not readily available (but are likely in the thousands). Still, we can say that the New Deal easily had over 1,100 projects to build or improve cemeteries.

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