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Tennessee WPA/National Youth Administration Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS-2340

  • Staff Only

This collection, the Tennessee WPA/National Youth Administration Records, 1933-1942, contains 74 items and is separated into three series. Most of these items are memoranda about form and payroll changes from Bruce Overton, the State Director in Tennessee, and are business letters from or to D. B. Cornwell, the District Supervisor in Knoxville, Tenn. There are also blank forms, letterheads, and various undated lists about Work Projects for the National Youth Administration in Tennessee.

Series I -- Memoranda to Supervisors, 1937-1939, contains 30 memoranda. Bruce Overton sent most of these items to Supervisors and District Managers in Tennessee. These include information about bulletin and form revisions and nullifications.

Series II -- Business letters, 1933-1942, contains 19 items, usually from Stacey M. Dobbs, Supervisor of Projects in Tennessee, and to or from D. B. Cornwell. One letter is from 1933, two from 1937, two from 1940, one from 1941, one from 1942, and none from 1934 to 1936. The remaining items are from 1938 and 1939.

In Series III -- Other documents, 1937-1939, there is a list dated 1937 and two torn payroll sheets from 1939; however, the remaining 23 items are undated. Among these documents are lists for Work Project data, payroll data, and county numbers, as well as blank letterheads and payroll sheets.

Dates

  • 1933-1942

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet

Abstract

The Tennessee WPA/National Youth Administration Records, 1933-1942, contain 74 items and is separated into three series. Series I includes 30 memoranda, generally about form and payroll changes from Bruce Overton, the State Director in Tennessee. Series II consists of business letters from or to D. B. Cornwell, the District Supervisor in Knoxville, Tenn. There are also blank forms, letterheads, and various undated lists about Work Projects for the National Youth Administration in Tennessee in Series III.

Biographical/Historical Note

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed millions of people throughout the United States from 1935 to 1943. The WPA's Tennessee state administrator Harry S. Berry, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., had them constructing roads, dams, bridges, and more. The WPA in Tennessee also had many projects and programs designed to employ people in interesting areas, such as excavating Native American burial mounds, completing airports and landing fields in Jellico, Cookeville, Chattanooga, and other cities, restoring historic Civil War sites, and working in education, public health, and the arts.

The National Youth Administration (NYA) was designed to solve unemployment among disgruntled youth during the Depression. Vocational classes, scholarships and funds, and part-time jobs became available to students, while those out of school received on-the-job training in federal work projects. The NYA employees built vocational and recreational buildings all over Tennessee, including workshops and Boy Scout lodges. In 1937, the focus became skills development, and a division was set up for assistance to African-Americans. In 1939, the NYA began to emphasize skills training in defense-related industries.

Arrangement

Collection consists of a single folder divided into three series: Memoranda to Supervisors; Business Letters; and Other Documents.

Acquisition Note

Collection was purchased in April 1992.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480