Woods Park (Newton County Fairgrounds)
Newton, Newton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1937, the Southwestern Settlement and Development Company deeded land to Newton County. This property would become known as Woods Park, named for the company's surveyor, C.A. Woods. County resident sused the park for recreation and soon the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program administered by the federal government, improved the park through a building project. Between 1939 and 1969, Newton High School used the aprk intermittently as an athletic field. Since 1980, the park has hosted the Newton County Fair and is now known as the Newton County Fair Grounds. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1937 a timber-and-land company deeded this Newton County ground to the public, and it became Woods Park, named for the company surveyor. During the Depression the Works Progress Administration — one of the New Deal's great work-relief programs — improved the park through a building project, and for decades the local high school used it as an athletic field. Since 1980 it has hosted the county fair, still serving the community as gathering ground.
Why it matters
The park shows the New Deal's reach into small rural counties, where federal work programs left lasting public spaces that ordinary Americans still use.
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Themes & tags
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