United States. Works Progress Administration (Or.)

The Works Progress Administration was organized May 6, 1935 in an effort to provide work to professionals during the Great Depression. The WPA provided workers to federal, state and local agencies to carry out projects that might never have been completed otherwise, due to a lack of resources. The WPA records at the Oregon Historical Society reflect some of the agency's work relating to Oregon history. Projects included an inventory of county archives, directory of churches in Oregon, newspaper indices, and transcriptions of pioneer diaries.