The Great Depression was a very hard time for most Americans, including those living in Oregon. These historical photos allow us a glimpse into another time, and into the lives of those who lived and struggled through the tumultuous 1930s. Thanks to the photographers from that period, we are able to see fragments of what Oregon looked like all those years ago and to begin to understand what people’s lives were like. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say, and these images tell incredible stories. These photos were taken between 1936-1939 by Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein, and they’re accompanied by their original captions.
- “An abandoned farmhouse in central Oregon representing years of unfruitful efforts to make things grow.”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004684 June 1936, Jefferson.
- “This family came to the potato harvest after the Oregon hop harvest. In FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp unit. Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021974 October 1939, Merrill.
- “Unemployed lumber worker goes with his wife to the bean harvest. Note social security number tattooed on his arm.”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b15572 August 1939, Marion County.
- “Opposition to government migratory labor camps. Portland, Oregon”
Unknown/ Library of Congress LC-USF344-007482-ZB 1939, Portland.
- “Oregon, Marion County, near West Stayton. Children in large private bean pickers camp. Pickers came from many states, from Oklahoma to North Dakota”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b34456 August 1939, Marion County.
- “Resting after a hard day’s work at a Resettlement Administration workcamp. Jefferson County, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004776 July 1936, McMinnville.
- “The chef at the Rimrock Camp in the central Oregon land development project gets ready to go into action on the dinner gong. Oregon.”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004700 June 1936, Jefferson.
- “Logs at sawmill on Marys River near Corvallis, Oregon”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020614 August 1939, Marys River, Benton County.
- “Baby from Mississippi parked in truck at FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp, Merrill, Oregon.”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b35579 October 1939, Merrill.
- “Oregon, Marion County, near West Stayton. Bean pickers barber each other. "
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020531 August 1939, Marion County.
- “A Warm Springs Indian chief at the Molalla Buckeroo. Molalla, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004813 July 1936, Molalla.
- “Oregon, Marion County, near West Stayton. Migrant pickers harvesting beans. Farm people came from South Dakota”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020495 August 1939, Marion County.
- “Resettlement Administration workers. Rimrock Camp. Madras, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004942 July 1936, Madras.
- “Rusting and battered combines of more prosperous days show how vain efforts are to grow wheat in the dry central Oregon area”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004726 June 1936, Jefferson.
- “Couple who have raised ten children on reclaimed land which they cleared twenty years ago. Irrigon, Morrow County, Oregon.”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021087 October 1939, Morrow County.
- “Oregon, Marion County, near West Stayton. Bean picker’s child. Just arrived from near Joplin, Missouri. Question: ‘Why did you leave there?’ Answer: ‘We couldn’t make it.’”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020482 August 1939, Marion County.
- “‘We made good money in the cherries this year. From then on we made just beans.’ Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon. Woman in mobile unit of FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b35692 October 1939, Merrill.
- “Hooverville squatter. Portland, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004817 July 1936, Portland.
- “Soper grandmother, who lives with family. FSA (Farm Security Administration) borrower. Willow Creek area. Malheur County, Oregon.”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021234 October 1939, Malheur County.
- “Lighthearted kids in Merrill FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp, Klamath County, Oregon.”
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b35576 October 1939, Merrill.
- “Dead Ox Flat. Children get into school bus on a fall morning. Malheur County, Oregon. "
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021210 October 1939, Deer Ox Flat.
- “Indian tepees. Molalla Buckeroo. Molalla, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004814 July 1936, Molalla.
- “A part-time fruit worker in his squatter’s shack under the Ross Island Bridge. Portland, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004826 July 1936, Portland.
- “Sawmill. McMinnville, Oregon”
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004764 July 1936, McMinnville.
- “Migratory child at end of day in bean pickers’ camp near West Stayton, Oregon. "
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020583 August 1939, Marion County.
What did you think of these photographs? Share your thoughts below.
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004684
June 1936, Jefferson.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021974
October 1939, Merrill.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b15572
August 1939, Marion County.
Unknown/ Library of Congress LC-USF344-007482-ZB
1939, Portland.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b34456
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004776
July 1936, McMinnville.
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004700
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020614
August 1939, Marys River, Benton County.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b35579
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020531
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004813
July 1936, Molalla.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020495
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004942
July 1936, Madras.
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004726
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021087
October 1939, Morrow County.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020482
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b35692
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004817
July 1936, Portland.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021234
October 1939, Malheur County.
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8b35576
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-021210
October 1939, Deer Ox Flat.
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004814
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004826
Arthur Rothstein/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-004764
Dorothea Lange/ Library of Congress LC-USF34-020583
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
