The Great Depression in An Arbor The Great Depression had a tremendous impact on the people and the built environment of Ann Arbor and Lower Town. While Ann Arbor's unemployment rates of 10 to 15 percent during the Depression were well below national averages, this was little solace to those who lost their jobs or saw their hours dramatically cut. The Depression was a difficult time for many in Lower Town, as can be seen in the letter of Mrs. Peter Stone to Mayor Edward Staebler. People turned to both public and private agencies for help during the Depression. The Second Baptist Church served as a major relief agency, providing food and clothing. The city government tried several programs to assist the unemployed, appealing to both homeowners and businesses to hire Ann Arbor residents as well as embarking on a campaign of civic construction with the help of the federal Works Progress Administration. The impact of these programs can still be seen in Ann Arbor in the many W P A markers stamped in the sidewalks. Click here to see an application for relief from Second Baptist Church, a predominantly African American church at the corner of 4th Ave. and Beakes St. Members provided relief in the form of clothing and money to cover the cost of food and rent. Letter from Mrs. Peter Stone and response from Mayor Edward Staebler. This series of letters demonstrates the impact of the Depression on one resident of Lower Town. Mrs. Stone's letter shows the attempts and difficulties that met single women during the Depression. Mayor Staebler's response explains the agencies put into place early in the Depression to mitigate the effects of unemployment, but also shows their limited effectiveness. Click here to see a letter urging businesses to hire unemployed and "Put a Man to Work" flyer. These letters show the attempts of the city government, early in the Depression, to achieve private solutions to the problem of unemployment. These programs were largely ineffective, regular jobs rarely showed up, requests for home maintenance tasks averaged less than eleven per day. Eventually, the city itself, with the help of federal programs, employed many people at a variety of jobs: cleaning up and improving parks and playgrounds, building a new sewer system, and building roads and sidewalks.

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