Works Progress Administration (WPA) [1]

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was established in 1935 to provide “work for the unemployed on useful public projects.” Wyoming State Librarian, Alice Lyman proposed a program to be funded by WPA and administered by the Federal Writer’s Project whereby researchers and writers could be utilized to collect and preserve the states’ historical heritage. This material was gathered, added to the state’s collection and eventually used in the publication, “Wyoming: A Guide to Its History, Highways, and People.”

Other research done by the Wyoming Federal Writer’s Project included the Federal Records Survey for Wyoming, a history of grazing in the state, a history of the Wyoming National Guard,  an “America Eats” study and a Wyoming Place Names “book.” The Federal Records Survey resulted in published inventories to the records of several Wyoming counties. The National Guard study was published in 1940 and a number of recipes were submitted to the national office for inclusion in “American Eats.” The other projects were not completed because of World War II. But the records still exist and are housed at the Wyoming State Archives. An inventory of these records was published in 1977. [2]

In order to compile the Wyoming Place Names "book," a survey was created and completed by volunteers throughout the state. It resulted in many file folders of information arranged either by county or alphabetically. This information is the basis for the stories in the Wyoming Places Names Wiki.  

[1] Became Work Projects Administration on July 1, 1939

[2] Hendrickson, Gordon Olaf. Wyoming Works Projects Administration Federal Writers’ Project Collection Inventory. Cheyenne: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department, 1977.

 Create your own educational wiki!Help Add to Del.ici.ous Add to Digg Add to Reddit Add to fUrl Add to SpurlPublic, Platinum wiki Privacy Policy RSS