Municipal Improvements - Occoquan, VA

Municipal Improvements - Occoquan, VA

In 1933-34, the CWA created a wharf in Occoquan. The PWA and CCC also worked on other nearby improvements. The original docks and wharves that were built have since been replaced due to floods in the early 60's.

Christina O'Farrell

https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/municipal-improvements-occoquan-va/

October 14, 2019

No known rights held over resources.

October 14 , 2019

The first file is uploaded is a still image of the docks that were built in the place of the old docks and wharves in Occoquan. The second file uploaded is a still image of a plaque in Occoquan describing the wharves. The third file uploaded is a sound file located in Occoquan. The fourth file uploaded is a still image of field notes taken while at the site.

After reading the plaque for this site, I was able to identify a few stories that could be told through it. The plaque states that prosperity ships were built at the site and flour, logs, fish, and ice were all shipped downstream. It must've been a very busy town due to all the items being shipped downstream. Tourists came here and stopped by the wharves to look around the small town of Occoquan. Another significant thing to point out about this site that paints a vivid picture in my mind is that many traveling shows would come downstream to these wharves. It's significant to the history of the 1930's because the wharves were built in the 1930s and it reminds me of the entertainment aspect we talked about in class. We talked a lot about music, movies, plays, and such. This site had traveling shows coming downstream to stop here, which was probably a huge deal for this small town. It was probably one of their main sources of entertainment for this town. I decided to use my phone to document this site because I have an iPhone which has a camera feature along with a audio recording feature. Modern technology really allows a wide variety of possibilities compared to those in the 1930s. Being able to take a picture in color is a huge advantage for modern times because you're able to really see all the details that a black and white may not provide. Also, being able to record and take a picture on the same device is extremely useful as well because it can all be done within a few minutes and no heavy equipment has to be carried around. The only similarity I can think of from modern times to back then is the way people might write notes down. People still use pen and paper, like I did, to document locations just like people did back then. Newspaper are still around today and people still write about findings in there just as they did back then. The general theme between then and now is that writing is still a used technique to document places/things.