The Greenbelt Oral History Project was a cooperative project between faculty, staff, and students at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Greenbelt Public Library. The goal of the project was to collect oral histories from Greenbelt residents who had lived in the city at the time of its creation in 1937. Martha J. Ross, an oral historian and professor at the University of Maryland, managed the project while her students conducted the interviews of Greenbelt residents. Interviews were recorded on cassette tapes and later transcribed. The city of Greenbelt celebrated fifty years of community through a number of remembrance events, such as the Greenbelt Oral History Project.
Greenbelt, Maryland was a public cooperative community founded in 1937 as part of the New Deal under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This project included two other towns, Greendale, Wisconsin, and Greenhills, Ohio. The construction of the town created new jobs while also providing moderately priced housing in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. At the time of its creation, potential residents had to meet stringent requirements to live in Greenbelt. Residents were selected based on race, occupation, income, and willingness to participate in community events such as fundraisers. The federal government retained ownership of the town until December 31, 1952, when the majority of the original homes were then purchased by a resident housing cooperative. Community members were encouraged to participate and utilize cooperatives such as the Greenbelt Consumers Coop grocery store and the Greenbelt News Review. In 1963, the social engineering aspect of the town was eliminated and there are currently no requirements to become a resident of Greenbelt.
From the guide to the Greenbelt Oral History Project Collection, 1980-1987, 1980-1986, (State of Maryland and Historical Collections)
