Towns were declared unconstitutional

Some towns that had their start during the Depression Era were declared socialistic and unconstitutional in the 1940s and 1950s era when the anti-socialists were influencing American politics.  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created a program to build new suburban communities as part of his New Deal plans for the country. The overseeing department was the Resettlement Administration which later became a part of the Farms Security Administration.

Greenhills, Ohio

Greenhills, Ohio is now one of only three “Greenbelt Towns” left built in the United States. The other two were Greenbelt, Maryland and Greendale, Wisconsin.

Rexford Guy Tugwell (“Rex the Red” in conservative circles) was a Princeton agricultural economist who was part of Roosevelt’s brain trust.

Photojournalist, John Vachon, took the following photographs of Greenhills in October 1939.

Oldest shopping strip mall in Ohio at Greenshills when it was new, taken October 1939 by John Vachon

Boy Scout Troop Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Boy Scout Troop Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Adult Education typing class Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

School grounds Greenhills, Ohio October 1939 by John Vachon

Behind School Greenhills, Ohio October 1939 by John Vachon

Six-man football played in high school at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Swimming pool, business district at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Houses Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Bus which traveled between Cincinnati and Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Family moving in at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Family moving in at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Nearly 4,000 residents inhabited the homes

Nearly 4,000 residents inhabited 1,660 homes, with many families including third and fourth generation descendants from original “pioneers.”

Several unique housing units are available in the village. The original government-built area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Much of the local retail activity is centered in historic Greenhills Shopping Center.

Family moving in at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Community center at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Community building at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Community building at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Community buildings at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

First Aid class for members of volunteer Fire Dept. at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

First Aid class for members of volunteer Fire Dept. at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Physical education class for school at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Physical education class for school at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Swimming pool in foreground at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Houses at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Houses Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Apartment Houses Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Apartment Houses Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Greenhills cost $11.5 Million

Greenhills alone cost $11.5 million, which included purchasing 5,360 acres of land in Springfield Township. About 3,300 workers spent 4.3 million man-hours constructing the town, and many of them became its first residents.

The land north of town was divided into large farms, where residents would come for fresh milk and produce.

Farm at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Farm at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

Farm at Greenhills, Ohio by John Vachon October 1939

The towns were declared unconstitutional

Tugwell envisioned 20 of these towns and before the program was declared unconstitutional he managed to build three: Greenbelt, Maryland (outside of Washington), Greendale, Wisconsin (outside of Milwaukee) and Greenhills, Ohio (outside of Cincinnati).

In 1939, the forest to the south was handed over to the Hamilton County Park Board to form Winton Woods.

After World War II, Uncle Sam decided to sell off the greenbelt towns, ending the community experiment. On Dec. 9, 1949, the Greenhills Home Owners Corp., a nonprofit tenant group, purchased 610 acres of Greenhills for $3.5 million. The tenants then bought the properties they had been renting.

New one-family houses of the typical suburban style were built, turning Greenhills into a bedroom community. The northern farmland was sold in 1952 to create New Greenhills, which was instead named Forest Park.

 More photographs of this unique and historic housing project of 1935

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