Afton High School – Afton – Oklahoma's New Deal

Address:	410 South Main, Afton, Oklahoma 74331	County	Ottawa
Started	1934	Completed	1934
Agencies:	PWA	NRHP:	No

Current Usage:

Description:

“This “T” shaped ( 192′ x 98′) structure is constructed of brick which has been painted yellow. The school consists of two units: a classroom unit which has a flat roof with parapets and a gym unit, which forms the stem of the “T” and has an arched roof with stepped parapets. The double door front entry is arched with fanlight, framed by pointed pilasters and topped by a stepped cornice. The paired metal sash windows have continuous brick sills and lintels. Brick friezes above the windows and front entry add decorative relief to the structure. A brick addition to the west side of the building has not severely impaired the integrity of the structure. Since the building was constructed in 1934, it could not have been built by the WPA. Since residents insist that it derived from government sponsored labor, it must have been the PWA or the CWA. Thus it has not been nominated to the National Register.
The Afton High School is most significant for its use of brick building material. Work relief programs used brick very infrequently due to its cost which suggests that the district had more funds with which to build than most districts at that time or that it used recycled brick from a previous structure. Economically, construction of the school provided jobs to many destitute farmers stricken by the depression and stimulated the local economy through the infusion of the laborers’ wages back into the local business community. The school provided improved learning facilities and was a source of pride and encouragement for area residents. Its usefulness has continued for more than fifty years.”[1]

Afton High School was constructed in late 1934 as a New Deal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided an $18,000 loan and $7,507 grant for the project, whose total cost was $26,287. PWA Docket No. OK 1948.[3]

Latitude: 36.68932 Longitude: -94.95824

Sources:

Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
National Archives: Record Group 135: Public Works Administration; Projects Control Division; Entry 52: Indices to Non-Federal Projects; Report No. 5: Status of All Completed Non-Federal Allotted Projects, page 175.
The Living New Deal