Bear River High School Science Building

Built in 1935-36, the Bear River High School Science Building is part of o the Public Works Buildings Thematic Resources nomination and is significant because it helps document the impact of New Deal programs in Utah, which was one of the states that the Great Depression of the 1930s most severely affected. In 1933 Utah had an unemployment rate of 36 percent, the fourth highest in the country, and for the period 1932-1940 Utah’s unemployment rate averaged 25 percent. Because the depression hit Utah so hard, federal programs were extensive in the state. Overall, per capita federal spending in Utah during the 1930s was 9th among the 48 states, and the percentage of workers on federal work projects was far above the national average. Building programs were of great importance. During the 1930s virtually every public building constructed in Utah, including county courthouses, city halls, fire stations, national guard armories, public school buildings, and a variety of others, were built under federal programs by one of several agencies, including the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the National Youth Administration (NYA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), or the Public Works Administration (PWA), and almost without exception none of the buildings would have been built when they were without the assistance of the federal government.

The Bear River High School Science Building is located at 1450 South Main Street in Garland, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#85000797) on April 1, 1985.

• New Deal Projects in Utah

The Bear River High School Science Building is one of 233 public works buildings identified in Utah that were built during the 1930s and early 1940s. Only 130 of the 233 buildings are known to remain today and retain their historic integrity. Of the 233 buildings, 107 of them were public school buildings; 55 of them remain. This was the only high school science building constructed. In Box Elder County a total of 7 buildings were constructed, 5 of which are known to be extant. Of the 7 originally built, 4 were public school buildings and 3 of the 4 remain.

onstruction of the Bear River High School Science Building was started in November of 1935 and completed in August 1936 in time for the opening of school. It originally housed the Bear River High School home economics department, the agricultural department, the biology department, the library, and a cafeteria.