It’s no secret that people lived much simpler lives a hundred years ago. Country folk may have led the simplest lives of all – waking up at dawn, milking the cows, gathering eggs from the hens, sitting down to a big, home-cooked family breakfast, spending the remainder of the day tending the fields, and starting all over again the next morning. They were perfectly content without any of the modern luxuries and stressors we’re so accustomed to today, and I think we all envy that unconditional happiness a little bit. At the very least, we’re curious about what rural life was like way back when – so here are some snapshots of farms in the 1930s to give you a glimpse of a slower paced, easygoing way of life.
- This barn in Travis County housed a family by night and allowed them to cultivate cotton by day.
Russell Lee
- Wide, open land as far as the eye can see..a rare sight today, that’s for sure. (Bexar County)
Russell Lee
- This small vegetable farmer didn’t need a fancy car - his worth was determined by his vegetable harvest.
Russell Lee The Mexican farmer who owned this car said the white farmers who owned the land felt great responsibility over their workers - they saw that they were cared for and had enough to feed their families during bad seasons. There was no shortage of camaraderie back then.
- Many wives of rehabilitation clients found great joy in canning and pickling vegetables to add to their family’s food supply in preparation for a possible shortage. (Kaufman County)
Arthur Rothstein
- If not for the picture’s description, I wouldn’t have recognized these as gasoline pumps. (Marfa)
Russell Lee
- A small place to sleep at night and a beautiful view while tending the farmland were the important things in life. (Santa Maria)
Russell Lee
- Wells were how water was obtained for drinking and farming purposes. (Jefferson)
Russell Lee
- No big factories were necessary to raise chickens. (Hidalgo)
Russell Lee
- A dust storm ravaged North Texas in 1939. (Lubbock)
Russell Lee
- Even the biggest of the barns didn’t come anywhere close to the oppressive magnitude of the factory farms that exist today. (Ralls)
Russell Lee
- In the middle of the Dust Bowl, this family had acres of unoccupied land all to themselves…can you imagine the freedom? (Dalhart)
Dorothea Lange
- Children played without a care in the world.
Arthur Rothstein
- Their fathers worked long hours in the field, striking up conversations with the other men and just living in the moment.
Arthur Rothstein
- And their mothers tended to household duties like sorting through the mail and canning the vegetables their husbands harvested (women also helped out on the farm, too!)
Arthur Rothstein
- Farmers put a lot more love and one-on-one attention into their livestock, almost treating them like prized possessions. (Hidalgo County)
Russell Lee
All in all, everything about farm life in the early 1900s was just done on a much smaller scale with more attention to detail and a more laid back style of living. Looking back at photos like these makes us wonder whether our vast change of pace in current times, although providing us with more money and advances in certain areas of life, is worth all the stress that accompanies it compared to easygoing rural life. What are your thoughts on life on the farm way back when compared to today? What do you think about these photos? Share your comments with me below!
Russell Lee
The Mexican farmer who owned this car said the white farmers who owned the land felt great responsibility over their workers - they saw that they were cared for and had enough to feed their families during bad seasons. There was no shortage of camaraderie back then.
Arthur Rothstein
Dorothea Lange
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