Item 71706 - Tourist postcard of Quoddy Village, ca. 1938

Item 71706 - Tourist postcard of Quoddy Village, ca. 1938
Contributed by Boston Public Library
Item 71706
Tourist postcard of Quoddy Village, ca. 1938
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Quoddy Village was constructed three miles from the town center in Eastport as a model village for workers on the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project that began in 1935. Eastport did not have adequate housing for the approximately 5,000 clerks, engineers, draftsmen, technicians, and laborers needed for the WPA-funded effort to harness the tidal power of the Passamaquoddy Bay tides to generate electricity. More than 1,000 workers and their families came to live in the temporary housing of the Village, which included 128 houses, 3 dormitories with dining rooms, fire station, hospital, heating plant, school, mess hall, and an administration building with a theatre, library, and post office.

Congress blocked funding for the project in July 1936, and the workers and families left their lodgings in Quoddy Village. The following year, the site was turned over to the National Youth Administration, who used the space from 1938-1943 to train approximately 800 youth a year for vocational trades, including carpentry, cafeteria work, electrical work, medical services, garage work, and aviation work. While participating in the Quoddy Regional Project, the young men trained, performed work assignments, attended English and math classes, published a newspaper, received on-site medical care, ran their own government, and enjoyed recreational activities. This iteration of Quoddy Village closed due to loss of funding in 1943. Quoddy Village was used during World War II as a Navy Sea Bee base camp.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938 as part of their Maine series. These, and other postcards, by the Tichnor Brothers Company are officially known as the Tichnor Gloss Series because the photographs were notoriously retouched on such a level that does not allow the postcards to be classified as photographs or paintings. The caption reads, "Greetings from Quoddy Village, Me."

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