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New Deal Projects in the AFNHA Region
Item 14 of 22
The Oakland, MD post office was built under the Federal Works Agency in 1940, one of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal government agencies. It is also home to a mural painted as part of the New Deal's art program. The mural, titled "Buckwheat Harvest," was painted by Robert Gates in 1942. It depicts a group of men and women harvesting buckwheat, a very common crop across Appalachia and in western Maryland. Gates was probably trying to remind viewers of a simpler and more abundant time to help them cope with the harsh realities of the Depression.