One of many campgrounds the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed in Maine, this one is located in Baxter State Park. “Set in a northern hardwood forest near the base of Abol Slide, Abol is the closest campground to Togue Pond Gate… read more
“Across the country, natural resources were being lost to poor conservation, heavy use, and severe drought. In Maine, one of the newer national parks was struggling. Even though Acadia National Park had been created 17 years earlier, it was still… read more
The historic former Acadia School in Madawaska, Maine was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building “began as a high school and after several years it was an elementary school. At one time it… read more
“By January, 1937, the Works Progress Administration had supervised the painting of one hundred and eight town markers, airport symbols, and meridian markers throughout Maine.” (Marker is for the capital of Maine, but work was spread throughout the state)
The W.P.A. developed what is now known as Belfast Municipal Airport, in Belfast, Maine. W.P.A. project info: “Construct municipal airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐120 Total project cost: $1,020,780.00 Sponsor: City of Belfast
From the Pittsfield Historical Society: One project that had far-reaching importance to Pittsfield was the construction of an airport. Mr. McDonough was an old baseball player and he urged many of the towns to build baseball fields. Our officials preferred… read more
The W.P.A. worked to develop what is now known as Princeton Municipal Airport, in Princeton, Maine. W.P.A. project info: “Improvements to airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐52 Total project cost: $358,036.00 Sponsor: War Department “Make improvements to municipal airport” Official Project Number:… read more
Multiple New Deal agencies worked to develop a former municipal airport in Farmington, Maine. The Farmington airport was initially a FERA/MERA project as part of a state wide airport building program. It was built as a North/South 2000×100′ graded runway, open… read more
The W.P.A. developed a former municipal airport in Van Buren, Maine. The location of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.. W.P.A. project info: “Construct municipal airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐103 Total project cost: $950,000.00 Sponsor: Town of Van… read more
The W.P.A. developed the former Fort Kent Municipal Airport. W.P.A. project info: “Construct Fort Kent Municipal Airport” Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐99 Total project cost: $486,000.00 Sponsor: Town of Fort Kent
A suspension bridge over Androscoggin River on Pedestrian Path in Brunswick and Topsham. Built in 1892 by John A. Roebling Sons Co. to allow mill employees in Bruswick access to housing in Topsham. The bridge was heavily damaged in the… read more
“As early as 1924, published accounts of plans for the Appalachian Trail called for it to extend to the summit of Maine’s Katahdin. Later, although some (notably Myron Avery) urged that the Trail continue to Katahdin, the scarcity of existing… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps completed the final link of the Appalachian Trail in Carrabassett Valley near Sugarloaf Mountain, on August 14, 1937. A plaque near the site reads: “In honor of the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps who, from 1935-1939, contributed greatly… read more
“In 1938, the newly created State Park Commission (which had been formed in 1935) recommended that the State accept a gift of 100 acres of land near Presque Isle. This became Aroostook State Park, the first in the State Park… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built the Artic Brook Sewer in Bangor ME. The 1934 town report notes: “The Arctic Brook sewer was enclosed from Broadway to Kenduskeag Stream, or a distance of 2600 feet, by a 36 inch sewer,… read more
Park improvements were one of many projects in the city that employed citizens in 1934 under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. According to the town report “Lewiston Athletic Park: General repairs and painting inside and out of the grand stand…. read more
According to the auditors report in the 1934 town report, the CWA was involved in reconstruction of the fire station known as the Atlantic Hose House. According to a 2016 city report, the building is currently in a severe case… read more
A 1940 Maine State Legislature report records the Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport was one of 6 airports considered important for national defense by the State Defense Commission in 1940 and that construction was undertaken by the WPA. Developed under FERA, it… read more
“During the winter of 1934-35, Augusta city officials called upon the ERA to assist in repairing the City Farm. This called for a tremenduous [sic] amount of material and labor but an agreement was made by the two parties whereby… read more
Augusta State Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile northwest of the central business district of the state capital of Augusta, a city in Kennebec County, Maine. The airport is owned by the state of Maine, but… read more
According to the town report, one of the several projects the New Deal completed in Farmington was work on Bailey Hill Rd. in 1939. WOODCOCK, OR BAILEY HILL ROAD Paid by town for materials, labor, trucks, arch culvert, etc. $3,049… read more
The Forest Service fire lookout tower on Washington Bald Mountain, built in 1918, was an enclosed wood type and was 55-feet high. It was replaced in 1934 with a 70-foot steel tower constructed by the Indian Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)… read more
The Bangor dam “was built on the site of Treat Falls in 1875. It [was] about 1,006 feet long with 800 feet of timber crib spillway and 200 feet of concrete spillway on the easterly end. The timber spillway being… read more
Created in 1927 as a commercial airport named Godfrey Field. In 1940 the Maine State Defense Commission considered 6 airports priority for use as military bases, Bangor being a key one. A 1940 Maine State Legislature report records that construction… read more
“The Athletic Field at Vinalhaven may well be classed as a fine type of work project – a project on which the ERA, the town and private citizens cooperated to make possible work, health and pleasure. About thirty-five years ago… read more
“Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park, located in Piscataquis County in north-central Maine. The Park was established by 28 donations of land, in Trust, from Park donor Percival P. Baxter between the… read more
A crew from the Lewiston Civilian Conservation Corps Camp constructed a road to the fire tower on Bear Mountain near Waterford. The tower was built in 1934 and dismantled in the 1950s.
The current Deer Lake Campground in Township34 ME is the location for the Beddington CCC Camp. Excerpt from “Official Annual, 1937, Civilian Conservation Corps”: “On May 1935, a cadre of men from Bar Harbor moved into the woods, thirteen miles… read more
Nobleboro-Damariscotta Bridge and Belvedere Rd. were improved with WPA aid in the mid 1930s. The following information is from a 1937 municipal report: W. P. A. PROJECTS No Appropriations Expenditures: Nobleboro-Damariscotta Bridge [on Belvedere Rd.] Miscellaneous $14.00 Materials $236.04 Truck… read more
One of the 26 bridges in Maine that were destroyed or damaged by the 1936 flood and rebuilt by the US Works Program Flood Relief projects and were handled under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Public Roads, US Dept…. read more
An article in the Independent Reporter August 24, 1933 reports of 7 CWA projects for Somerset County, $7000 of which was for a third class road connecting Concord Township and Embden.
Biddeford Municipal Airport is a public use airport in York County, Maine, United States. It is owned by the City of Biddeford and is located two nautical miles (3.70 km) south of the central business district. It has one runway… read more
Bradbury Mountain State Park is a public recreation area in the town of Pownal, Cumberland County, Maine, managed by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The state park covers 730 acres. The park was created in the 1940s as… read more
The Brewer Municipal Auditorium in Brewer ME was built with the support of the Federal Works Agency of the Public Works Administration in 1939. “Prior to the beginning of the 1939 municipal year all arrangements for building the auditorium had… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a garage at the historic Brickett Place house in Stow. The structure still stands on the property. According to a 1982 Nomination Form of the National Register of Historic Places, “a garage, of CCC construction… read more
Bridgton Academy is an all-male college preparatory in Bridgton, Maine. Founded in 1808, the school sits at the northern tip of Long Lake in North Bridgton, Maine. The school has been NEASC accredited since 1934, making it one of the… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Bridgton CCC Camp Co. 1124 in Bridgton ME. “History of the 1124th Company. Civilian Conservation Corps. On June 1st, 1935, Lt. J. L. Fearer arrived in Bridgton with a cadre of 23 men from the… read more
In response to the foot dragging by Portland city officials on the urgent need of affordable housing due to the influx of military related industry and basing personnel, the Federal Housing Authority of the Federal Works Agency ordered the construction… read more
The Brunswick airport was originally built in 1935 by the Maine Emergency Relief Administration, a state division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration after a survey of airports in the state by Capt. Harry M. Jones with the intention of… read more
Constructed in 1935. A new High School was built in 1995 due to overcrowding. Demolished in 2009. The Harriet Beecher Stowe elementary school was built on the same location in 2011 and incorporates an art deco bas relief and a… read more