Siloam Springs and the New Deal
Originally posted on November 19, 2021
The stock market crash of 1929 caused a great economic depression throughout the United States that lasted for the next decade. Following his 1932 election win, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the First New Deal through a series of executive orders and Congressional laws. The New Deal - a federal financial relief package that included public works projects, financial relief, programs, and regulations - was designed to bring economic relief, create jobs, and help protect American industries. Programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), National Recovery Administration (NRA), National Youth Administration (NYA), Public Works Administration (PWA), and Works Progress/Projects Administration (WPA) gave individuals the ability to work on federal, state, and local government projects many of which can still be enjoyed today.
The city of Siloam Springs was no exception to the financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression. Several New Deal projects were conducted within the city’s limits, which gave local citizens a chance to have a steady income while contributing to the local community.
An image of the American Legion Community Building Hall
The American Legion Community Hall is dated 1934 and continues to be frequently used by the community today. Construction was largely funded by the American Legion and used materials from the Chautauqua Building which stood where the Public Library is today. Everett Allen supervised the construction of the community hall, which is commemorated on the cornerstone of the building. By 1990, the community hall was boarded up and in severe need of updates. Main Street Siloam Springs took on the project of renovating the hall - installing air conditioner, rewiring the electricity, renovating the windows - and helped return it to use.
An image of the 1940 Siloam Springs High School
The Siloam Springs High School was constructed as a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project and is dated 1940. The building was officially dedicated in September of 1941, and continued to operate as the high school through 1963. In the spring of 1993, the building was demolished to make room for the Southside Elementary School expansion. In honor of the old high school, the Siloam Springs school board created a committee to receive community suggestions on what to preserve from the building to incorporate into a memorial. Today, a memorial built with red bricks from the original building serves as a reminder of the fond memories the old high school brought for many in Siloam Springs.
An image of the original Twin Springs Park Fountain
The original Twin Springs Park fountain was built as a National Youth Administration (NYA) project in 1936. The NYA was a program designed to keep youth in school, providing work during the summer break and requiring the students to return to school every fall. Today, the fountain in Twin Springs is a replica of the original and continues to be loved in the community.
Written by Autumn Roberts
Resources
Don Warden. Images of America: Siloam Springs (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2012), 57-70.
“New Deal.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, October 22, 2021.
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/new-deal-4852/.
“Good Community Makes A Good School,” Northwest Arkansas Times (Fayetteville, AR),
January 28, 1993.
Further Readings and Sources on the New Deal in Siloam Springs and the state of Arkansas
Images of America: Siloam Springs by Don Warden
Encyclopedia of Arkansas Website - www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net
University of Arkansas New Deal and Federal Programs Research Guide - https://uark.libguides.com/c.php?g=204439&p=1348959
