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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.