The Defense Homes Corporation was created on October 23, 1940 to finance housing for war industry workers, and existed through 1942.
Guide to Federal Records,

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

, retrieved 14 Sep. 2009

History

The Defense Homes Corporation was incorporated pursuant to a letter of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to the Secretary of the Treasury on October 18, 1940, to finance housing for war industries. Subdivisions and apartment complexes were constructed around the country where new war factories had caused a shortage of worker housing. It was also known as "The Lanham Act" after Representative Fritz G. Lanham of Texas who championed the bill. To insure conservative support, the DHC was only to construct homes where the private homebuilding industry was not functioning. By January 1942, 207 projects had been completed and another 171 were authorized for construction. On February 24, 1942, the Defense Homes Corporation was transferred to the

Federal Housing Administration The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a United States government agency founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, created in part ...

. In 1945 all assets were liquidated, with any remaining assets transferred to the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...

on June 30, 1948.

Examples of DHC projects

Colonial Hills Colonial Hills is a subdivision of 873 single-family homes located in the city of Worthington, Ohio, a northern suburb of the state capital, Columbus. Built by the Defense Homes Corporation to meet the needs of World War II production and the post- ...

, Ohio *

Fairlington, Virginia Fairlington is an unincorporated neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, located adjacent to Shirlington in the southernmost part of the county on the boundary with the City of Alexandria. The main thoroughfares are Interstat ...

References

{{reflist 1940 establishments in the United States 1945 disestablishments in the United States Corporations chartered by the United States Congress Defunct agencies of the United States government History of the government of the United States New Deal agencies Reconstruction Finance Corporation United States Department of Housing and Urban Development