In response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers, President Herbert Hoover created the Federal Emergency Relief Agency (FERA) which made cash payments to citizens with no other means of support. When President Roosevelt took office he came up with a new plan that offered wages plus encouraged people to work. In 1935, Congress granted the president’s request with $4.8 billion made available through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the largest relief program in American history.

The program focused on the largest group of works with little or no skills who were hardest hit by the Great Depression. By 1941, 8 million relief workers were earning a wage through the programs diverse projects across the country. Many focused on infrastructure building schools, streets, airports and the like. Through the program even artists and writers were given assignments that were deemed for the good of the public.

The benefits of some of these projects can be seen in the town of DeRidder today. The First Street School was one such project completed in 1941 was a WPA project constructed at a cost of $182,000. Considered to be of superior quality and engineering, everything excluding the roof and floors was constructed with concrete. Now on the National Register of Historical Places.

The Clerk is very interested in publishing more historical accounts and photographs from the entire parish on this website. If you have information or photos that you would like to submit please forward them to us at the following address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..