October 4, 1933 · Arthurdale
Federal government acquires land for Arthurdale
After Eleanor Roosevelt visited depression-stricken coal communities in northern West Virginia, the federal government acquired Richard Arthur's farm near Reedsville on October 4, 1933, for its first experimental subsistence-homestead community. The Preston County Journal reported the following day that the purchased farm comprised 1,017 acres and that the price was understood to have been $35,000. These figures refer to the Arthur farm purchase, rather than the larger project tract assembled through additional acquisitions. Initially called the Reedsville Experimental Community, the settlement was subsequently named Arthurdale for the former landowner.
Research status: Verified to source
- Citation / research lead
Preston County Journal, “Government Buys Arthurdale Farm for $35,000.00,” October 5, 1933 — transcription, West Virginia Archives and History; SAH Archipedia, “Arthurdale”; National Park Service, “Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment,” p. 14; e-WV, “Arthurdale”
Visit source ↗ (archive.wvculture.org)