Refugees from Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas.

October 17, 2022 Mike Goad

Dust, Drought, Depression, and War No. 29

Highway 33, Stanislaus County, San Joaquin Valley, California. April 1940

This 1940 photo by legendary photographer Dorthea Lange shows a caravan of four families displaced from Pope County, Arkansas, during the Great Depression.

The full caption from the National Archives record reads: Grayson, Highway 33, Westley, Stanislaus County, San Joaquin Valley, California. Caravan of four related families, refugees from Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas. Younger married members arrived in California November, 1939. Mother and father have just arrived. They still own their farm in Arkansas. ‘People like us can’t plan far ahead, but we are hoping by following the fruit this Summer to get us a place, pay something down. That’s the plan we have.’

National Archives info:

National Archives Identifier: 521688
Local Identifier: 83-G-41444
Creator(s): Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Division of Economic Information. ca. 1922-ca. 1953 (Most Recent)
From: Series: Photographic Prints Documenting Programs and Activities of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and Predecessor Agencies, ca. 1922 – ca. 1947
Record Group 83: Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1876 – 1959
This item was produced or created: 4/9/1940
The creator compiled or maintained the series between: ca. 1922 – ca. 1947
Contributors to Authorship and/or Production of the Archival Material(s): Lange, Dorothea, 1895-1965, Photographer

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Mike’s notes:

Image restoration note – This image has been digitally adjusted for one or more of the following:
– fade correction,
– color, contrast, and/or saturation enhancement
– selected spot and/or scratch removal
– cropped for composition and/or to accentuate subject matter
– straighten image

Image restoration is the process of using digital restoration tools to create new digital versions of the images while also improving their quality and repairing damage.