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WPA Memorial Project

If you believe that a family member was part of the original 220 African American workers through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), please email us at marketing@nbgs.org or call us at 757-441-5830 ext. 332.

Preserve History

Your contribution will help us to maintain the WPA Memorial Garden and continue to tell the story of the WPA workers and their legacy for future generations.

Donate to the WPA Memorial Garden

Known WPA Workers

If you believe that a family member was part of the original 220 African American workers through the Works Progress Administration (WPA),please email us at marketing@nbgs.org or call us at 757-441-5830 ext. 332.

placard with text: WPA Memorial Garden The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a depression era program that provided funds to build Norfolk's Azalea Garden Project. Working under difficult conditions of cold and heat, insects and snakes, 200 African American women and 20 African American men cleared dense underbrush, trees and stumps from this land during the late 1930s. They planted thousands of azaleas, rhododendrons, daffodils and other plants. Today, visitors still walk the trails and enjoy the beauty these women and men created. This Memorial Garden stands as a testament to their enduring legacy, honoring them as the first landscape curators of Norfolk Botanical Garden. WPA records for the project are incomplete. We are still searching for names to honor their contribution and complete the list of 220. Names of the known workers are listed below: Column 1 Sally Tucker Anthony Austin Berline Banks Narcissus Bond Gertrude Virginia Brooks Hattie B. Brown Oreatha Brown Lena Bunch Vernell Isaac Burrus Sadie Buxton Virginia Chavis Elnora Collins Irene Cousins Elnora Cowell Ellis Crumpler Clara Davis Moses Eley Miss Elizabeth Cornellia Epperson Fanny Waterfield Fentress Column 2 Mary Elizabeth Ferguson Evora Flowers Robert Duncan Ford Jenny Garris Annie Garrison Ethel Graham Marie Woodhouse Harris Maria Parker Haskins Caroline Hill Winnie Holland John Holley Ruth Howell Holmes Josephine Hopkins Nannie Mae Ingram Mary Ellen Jackson Gladys D. James Mary Jarvis Bessie M. Johnson Ethel Burford Johnson Column 3 Margaret Johnson Annie Mae Jones Daniel Jones Edna Joyce Thelma Amanda Wollard Mabery Henrietta Martin Mitt Mason Josephine Massey Wyatt Mason Ida F. Mays Carrie Melton Mary Mitchell Mary Nash Elizabeth Newby Addie Newsome Ethel Scott Peoples Mildred Perry Mary Peterson Josephine Rollins Column 4 Miss Sawyer Martha E. Sharpe Nellie Simms Essie Sneed Rebecca Sweeney Mattie Taylor Rosa L. Taylor Nep Thomas Essie L. Torrence Pearl Turner Albert Urquhart Lola Tolliver Walton Luvinia White Mary H. White Montgomery Wills, Jr. Martha Webb Wilson Blanche Worrell

A Garden Born During the Great Depression

The story of Norfolk Botanical Garden began during the Great Depression with an ambitious vision to create an azalea garden that could rival those of Charleston, South Carolina. On June 30, 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) awarded a grant of $76,278 to begin the project, originally known as Azalea Gardens. Since most of the male labor force was at work with other city projects; a group of 200 African American women and 20 African American men received the assignment. Their dedication and perseverance transformed an overgrown, swampy landscape into the Garden we know today.

For four years, these workers cleared dense vegetation, removed trees and stumps, and shaped the land using only pickaxes, hoes, shovels, and wheelbarrows. They carried the equivalent of 150 truckloads of dirt by hand to build a levee for the surrounding lake.

Their work required extraordinary endurance. From dawn until dusk, they labored through Norfolk’s harsh summers, cold winters, rain, and snow, while facing challenges including snakes, mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy. Despite the difficult conditions and limited resources, they continued the demanding work of transforming the land.

Through their dedication, the workers laid the foundation for Norfolk Botanical Garden. By March 1939, thousands of azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, shrubs, and daffodils had been planted, transforming the once-overgrown landscape into a garden that reflected the beauty and design of its era.

Their contributions extended far beyond the physical landscape. The skill, perseverance, and determination of these workers created a place that has inspired generations of visitors and continues to serve the community today.

Breaking Ground

“Breaking Ground” is the design and creation of an original larger-than-life-size bronze sculpture honoring the 220 African-American women and men employed through the WPA Project to labor in the tree-filled swampland from 1938-1942. The artist used photos of actual WPA workers from the era and an African-American female model. The above photo is of Mary Ferguson who was last known living WPA worker in front of the memorial sculpture.

The Garden, poem by Gracie Anthony

At the base of the statue features an excerpt of the poem The Garden, written by Gracie Anthony daughter of Josephine Hopkins, one of the original WPA workers.

Garden Club – WPA

This life-size painting Garden Club – WPA was created by award-winning Norfolk artist Maizelle and has been showcased at the Chrysler Museum of Art. It pays tribute to the 220 African American women and men, who, as part of a depression era Works Progress Administration project, transformed swampland into the beautiful Garden we know today.

Suggested Reading

The Norfolk Botanical Garden: A Natural Treasure

by Amy Waters Yarsinske

First Gardeners Norfolk Botanical Garden

by Martha M Williams

WPA Original Gardeners: Norfolk Botanical Garden

by Martha M Williams

How Students Rediscovered the Original Gardeners

According to her own account, Dr. Martha McClenny Williams, author of WPA Original Gardeners, was asked to serve on the Norfolk Botanical Garden Board beginning in 2003 for 2 three year terms. A group of middle school students came to the garden because they had just formed a new club “Future Problem Solvers of America”. They had to find a local organization that had a problem they could solve. It was a group of about 15 students.They wanted to help because Hurricane Isabel had just hit hard – about 300 trees had fallen down and they wanted to help with that, but they were too young to do that type of work.

A second alternative was helping with increasing the diversity at the garden. As they began to search the history they found that 220 African American men and women were the original gardeners and that they were asked to clear the land and build an azalea garden. The students were amazed when they found out and they wanted to begin to tell this story because no one had heard anything about it! And so the students advertised to find out if any gardeners were still living and they did find one original gardener at that time, in 2004. She was 80 years old and had not been back to the garden since she left in 1942. [Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MAmPFanyMo]