By Lauren PerryHistory Colorado
Each object in History Colorado’s collection has a unique and powerful story just waiting to be discovered. Supported by a grant from the Colorado Historical Records Advisory Board, I have used the collection to understand the untold history of Central City.
I worked with History Colorado to digitize the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Federal Writers’ Program Ledgers, created as part of a government program from the late 1930s and 1940s that sent writers across the country to document life in America. Writers came to Colorado to record natural features, flora and fauna, architecture, culture, agriculture, and industry in various regions of the state.
These writers created 11 ledgers, titled City Guides, to describe their impressions of the most important stories and legacies of each city, often focusing on buildings and landmarks. Using the ledgers, we can identify what parts of Colorado’s history were important to other Coloradans and the country in the 1930s, as well as the developments believed important in each town…