Once upon a time, the United States of America was reeling under the weight of the Great Depression. And, in an attempt to pull the country out of that massive economic crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted a program known as the New Deal. His wife, Eleanor, actively promoted portions of this program as well, and it was thanks to her influence that the historic West Virginia town of Arthurdale was born.
Arthurdale was built in 1933, a quaint town designed to provide government-funded economic homesteading opportunities for those who were struggling to stay afloat during the height of the Great Depression.
Today, roughly nine decades later, nearly 150 of the original, government-constructed New Deal-era buildings remain standing, and most are in excellent condition.
Stone walls. Simple, white-sided houses. Shutters. A forge. An Esso Station. All these and more can still be found in the quaint, historic, time-stands-still town of Arthurdale.
To help you appreciate this Depression-Era town, be sure to visit the Arthurdale Heritage, Inc Museum while you are here. It's a New Deal museum featuring all sorts of relics and historical information about the Great Depression, the New Deal, the Roosevelts, and the Arthurdale Historic District.
At the museum, you'll learn that Arthurdale was so close to the town's benefactress Eleanor Roosevelt's heart that it became known as "Eleanor's Little Village."
She made sure that all the houses had amenities like insulation and indoor plumbing, things we take for granted today that were not as common at this time in this region. She personally picked out the refrigerators that went into each home. She helped finance the community's start up with her own private funds.
Unfortunately, the "social experiment" aspect of the town of Arthurdale, in which the town was self-governed by a community of homesteaders and included almost no private industry, proved too costly for the government to sustain.
It was returned to private ownership in the 1940s, and, although considered a failure in federal terms, still serves as a wonderful, old-fashioned small town in which to live, work, or raise a family to this day.
Learn more about the Arthurdale Historic District in Preston County, West Virginia with a visit to the Arthurdale Heritage Museum’s website (you can also find them on Facebook). Oh, and don’t miss your chance to meet “Eleanor Roosevelt” herself at the New Deal Festival that transforms this little town each summer!
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