Tygart Dam

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal used recreation and infrastructure projects to provide employment and help revive the nation's economy. In West Virginia, more than 55,000 men enrolled in the CCC, and the state had more than 65 camps. The second wave of New Deal programs began in 1935 and included the Works Progress Administration, which became the largest New Deal agency and built or improved roads, sewer systems, bridges, and municipal buildings. Construction of Tygart Dam began in 1935 and was completed in 1938 as one of the first Public Works Administration projects intended to reduce unemployment through massive, labor-intensive construction. Veterans and men from Taylor, Barbour, Preston, and other nearby counties received preference for jobs there. At its peak in May 1936, 1,701 men worked on the project, earning 45 cents per hour for non-skilled labor and $1.10 for skilled labor, with a maximum of 30 hours a week. Tygart Dam is now operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

West Virginia · United States