A New Deal Experiment Transforms Key West

Oppressed by the Depression, Key West was a shambles. But then an imaginative New Dealer put the town back to work to create a charming, thriving resort.

"The Cross Florida Barge Canal was designed to connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean across mainland Florida. It was first proposed in the 1930s as part of an economic recovery program and again in 1942 as a national defense project. The project was finally granted funding in 1963 under President John F. Kennedy, and engineers completed some portions of the canal. Pressure from local citizens and environmentalist groups convinced President Richard Nixon to halt the project in 1971. Most of the strip of land that was to be used for the canal is now part of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway."--Florida Memory Project

Courtesy of the Florida Historical Society. Click on the image above or here to read full article.

• The image was created by the New Deal program, Farm Security Administration (originally the Resettlement Administration, in order to demonstrate the hardships of farm workers during the Great Depression.
• The original image is stored in the Farm Security Administration Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Image #: LC-USF3301-2372-M3.

       Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project. Click here or on the image above to read the full article.

Florida’s New Deal Landscapes in Jeopardy

General Note:

The Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC) was an employment program for unmarried men during the Great Depression in the United States. It was launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 as part of his New Deal, and continued until 1942, when many of the men had left for military service in World War II. The United States Army oversaw the operations of the camps, which were located at sites around the country, including several in Florida. The men signed up for a minimum of six months and were paid around thirty dollars a month, plus room and board. The men worked mainly in rural areas on projects such as forest renewal, state park development, and construction of service buildings and roads.

General Note:

In Florida, each camp was allowed to publish its own newsletter. Many of the newsletters were sent to other camps so their advisors could learn from each other. The camps were directed to send a copy of each newsletter to the University of Florida. These newsletters include serious topics such as safety precautions and camp news, but many also contain humorous anecdotes about camp life and stories about individuals who worked in the camps. Many of the newsletters also feature hand-drawn covers and other illustrations drawn by camp members.

-- From the University of Florida Special and Area Studies Collection

Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project. Click here or on image to read the full article and browse the collection.

Description: Draft list of chapters for the unfinished manuscript of the Florida Merchant Marine Survey, a project of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.

Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project. Click here or on the image above for full article.