Kentucky Archaeology and the Works Progress Administration

                             WPA crew at Morgan Stone Mound, Bath County, 1938

The WPA stands for the Works Progress Administration. The WPA began in 1935 as a work relief program during the Great Depression and was part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The WPA sponsored many types of projects, from the construction of swimming pools to archaeology. While archaeology may seem like a strange choice, digs require hands-on skills that many local men and women could easily learn. Additionally, the WPA focused on cultural projects. It was through this cultural focus that archaeological projects were deemed suitable and funded by the WPA.

The WPA’s archaeological projects in Kentucky, led by the museum’s namesake William S. Webb and staffed by local Kentuckians, became an important part of Kentucky’s archaeological history. These excavations led to the most archaeology that had been done within the state at that point, and much of our knowledge of Kentucky’s history comes from the WPA. Overall, 72 sites were excavated. The sites were mostly from the Archaic and Woodland periods and range from Greenup County in Eastern Kentucky to Trigg County in Western Kentucky. 

Photographs from the WPA’s archaeological projects in Kentucky can be viewed at the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Digital Collections website. Finding aids for the Webb Museum’s WPA collections can be found can be found on our UKnowledge page. Additionally, the University of California Berkeley’s Living New Deal project highlights the broader history of the WPA across the country. 

Please take a moment to take our survey. Doing so will help the museum know what adjustments should be made and what projects to focus on. All feedback is valuable to us!