25 Rare Photos In Oklahoma Taken During The Great Depression
By Ashley|Published December 18, 2015
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Ashley
Author
Ashley has lived in Oklahoma for 30 years and is the Oklahoma staff writer for onlyinyourstate.com. When she isn't writing about Oklahoma, she enjoys visiting the beach and exploring new areas.
During the 1930s Oklahoma suffered greatly. The Great Depression, combined with the Dust Bowl, destroyed many farms and left hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans unemployed. Droughts and high winds were treacherous at times, and due to the conditions in Oklahoma, more than 15% of Oklahomans moved to California. Some of the hardest hit areas were in rural Oklahoma. Shanty towns, also known as shacktowns, sprang up near many cities during the Great Depression.
Sometimes called Hooverville, Little Oklahoma or Okieville, these settlements often grew on empty land, unrecognized officially by local authorities, but often tolerated or ignored out of necessity. They had no plumbing or electricity. Homes were built from salvaged scraps. The water was polluted and there were no facilities for trash and other waste. The following 25 photos capture Oklahoma during this era:
1. These cotton farmers were day laborers and worked near Oil City in 1937.
3. This camp by the roadside was near Spiro. This family did agricultural day labor to obtain funds to go to Arizona and California. The photo was captured in 1939.
9. The depression and drought struck towns as well as farms. Laborers, clerks and building tradesmen immigrated, as well as farm people. This town was Caddo in 1938.
10. A family waiting outside a rural church while other members of their families are attending a church business meeting, taken in McIntosh County in 1939.
12. This agricultural day laborer was a former oil field worker and miner. He is photographed with his wife and baby in McIntosh County in 1939. He was quoted saying, "I hope the next time you see me, you'll find me in better condition."
15. A family of 9, plus the eldest son's family, are traveling along Hwy 1 in Oklahoma near Webbers Fall. The father said, "We're bound for Kingfisher (Oklahoma wheat) and Lubbock (Texas cotton). We're not trying to, but we'll be in California yet. We're not going back to Arkansas; believe I can better myself."
18. A tenant farmer on his front porch. The man said that the owner/agent changed so often that no one ever took any interest in the condition of the land or buildings. This photo was taken south of Muskogee in 1939.
20. This family of 7 is walking on a highway in Pittsburgh County, Oklahoma. They started from Idabel, Oklahoma and are bound for Krebs, Oklahoma. The father was a farmer but got ill with pneumonia and lost the farm.
