Landscape Information
In order to increase its fleet of ships during World War I, the federal government pressed existing shipyards into service, creating unprecedented housing demands for thousands of workers; the subsequent lack of housing was a major hindrance to the war effort. The government then created two temporary agencies: the United States Housing Corporation and the Emergency Fleet Corporation. The latter planned the North End Project, which consisted of 67 brick houses designed by architect R Clipston Sturgis, as well as a brick schoolhouse. For a variety of workers of the Texas Steamship Company, Sturgis designed three styles of buildings: 1 ½-story single family, 1 ½-story duplexes, and 2-story dormitories with a kitchenette and three bedrooms on each floor. A building labeled “Maids” and one labeled “Lounging Room” were next to the dormitories. Construction began just three months before the armistice and continued for months afterward; in that short time, 65 buildings were built. Streets were arranged in blocks of no more than 20 house lots, creating small neighborhoods in a development that included no playgrounds or parks.
Texas Steamship Company left Bath around 1921, and most residents of the North End Project moved out. An influx of shipyard workers in World War II brought numerous residents. Today the development’s historic character lies in its mostly-unaltered brick architecture, consistent building setbacks from streets, and streets laid out in small neighborhoods.
