North Carolina: The WPA Guide to the Old North State Paperback – August 1, 1988

I bought this book after seeing a PBS program on the WPA. I am from NC so the guide was fun to look over and see how much has changed in the state in the past 70 years. It was a time before freeways and interstates, and it gives you a guide to touring over state highways. All those roads went through towns instead of around, so it give you the notable sites in each town as you go.

This book was compiled in the depression years to give work to writers. It is part of a series that includes most states. The various tours and routes open a door to a past time, many of these historical venues have been forgotten. If you like to take the back roads, you must have this.

Nice historical reference to have if you're interested in this state.

from the back cover the USC Press 1988 editionAll of us, at one time or another, have had a strong desire to be able to get into a time machine and be transported magically to an earlier place and time. Science has not yet produced for us such a time machine, but the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), a division of the Works Projects Administration, did produce for posterity guides to all of the 48 states. Using talented local researchers and writers the FWP created an image of America fifty years ago.North Carolina: The WPA Guide to the Old North State is a reprint of the original WPA guide. It contains a calendar of events and sections on the natural setting, Indians, history, Negroes, agriculture, modes of travel, industry and labor, education, religion, sports and recreation, folkways and folklore. A section on the principal cities and towns, their history and interesting facts about the present-day communities, and points of interest are included. A new introduction by William S. Powell, professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina, is included.