Farm Security Administration Collection (#2)

NEW JERSEY: MINSTRELS. African American minstrels in a truck advertising their show at an agricultural workers camp, Bridgeton, New Jersey. Photographed by John Collier, July 1942

COAL MINERS, 1935. Kentucky coal miners taking a work break, Jenkins, Kentucky. Photograph by Ben Shahn, October 1935

COAL MINER, 1942. Coal miner at end of the days work at Montour #4 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photograph by John Collier, November 1942

COAL MINER, 1935. Kentucky coal miner taking a smoking break, Jenkins, Kentucky. Photograph by Ben Shahn, October 1935

WEST VIRGINIA: COAL MINE. The next trip. Coal miners sitting in a mining car, ready to go into the mine shaft at Maidsville, West Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1938

COAL MINERS, 1937. Three coal miners in Birmingham, Alabama. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, Febuary 1937

COAL MINER, 1935. A coal miner taking a break from working at the Consolidated Coal Company, Kentucky. Photograph by Ben Shahn, October 1935

COAL MINER VILLAGE, 1935. The heart of the largest coal region in the world, near Jenkins, Kentucky. Photograph by Ben Shahn, October 1935

COAL MINERs BOYS, 1938. Three sons of a coal miner leaning on a rustic porch railing in Pursglove, West Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1938

COAL MINERs FAMILY, 1938. Mother, wife and baby of unemployed coal miner, Marine, West Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1938

COAL MINERs SON, 1939. Kempton, West Virginia. Photograph by John Vachon, May 1939

FARM EROSION, 1937. Farm boy on badly eroded land from the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, 1937

MOTHERS CLUB, 1938 Women singing hymns before opening meeting of the Mothers Club at Arvin Farm Sercurity Administration Camp for migrants, California. Photograph, by Dorothea Lange, November 1938

EDGAR ALLEN FARM, 1936. Workers hauled old stumps from highway construction for winter fuel supply, being too poor to buy fuel, near Miford, Iowa. Photographed by Russell Lee in December, 1936

ST. THOMAS SLUM, 1941. Children in one of the slum areas in St. Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Photographed by Jack Delano in December, 1941

SEGREGATED THEATER, 1939. An African American going into the colored entrance of a movie theater in Belzoni, Mississippi. Photographed by Marion Post Wolcott in 1939

POLICE AND PROTESTERS, 1936. A police officer and protesters at a political gathering in San Francisco, California, August 1936. Photographed by Dorothea Lange

MIGRANT BOY, 1940. Boy from a migrant farm family in Visalia, California. Photographed by Arthur Rothstein in 1940

EVANS: GARAGE, 1936. Garage at Atlanta, Georgia. Photographed by Walker Evans, 1936

TETON NATIONAL FOREST, 1936. View of Teton National Forest, Wyoming. Photographed by Arthur Rothstein in 1936

OHIO: DRUGSTORE, 1938. Sign outside a drugstore at Newark, Ohio. Photographed by Ben Shahn, 1938

GRAVESTONE, 1935. Gravestone for Italian immigrant husband and wife in a cemetery at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Photographed by Walker Evans, 1935

CHILDREN RIDING MULE, 1940. Two children riding a mule near Barbourville, Kentucky. Photographed by Marion Post Wolcott, November 1940

CORN FIELD, 1940. Fenced-in fields with corn shocks on farm near Marion, Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, 1940

TENANT FARMERS. Former tenant farmers, now on relief program. Photograph by Dorothea Lange in the late 1935

FRONT PORCH, 1938. Woman sitting on the front porch of a home on 4 July 1938, at Dover, Delaware. Photograph by John Vachon

MIGRANT WORKER, 1938. Migrant worker sorting luggage in San Joaquin Valley, California. Photograph, by Dorothea Lange, 1938

MISSOURI: FAMILY, 1939. Farm family in their farmhouse in Charles County, Missouri. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, 1939

FARMER, 1941. Mr. Leo Longamore, formerly a farm laborer, now living on a new farm obtained by the New York Relocation Corporation. Photograph by Jack Delano, 1941

CORN FIELD, 1940. Corn shocks and fences on a farm near Marion, Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, October 1940

PLANTING CORN, 1941. Planting corn in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, May 1941

OLD BARN, 1938. Old barn with advertisements for malarial remedies and salt, near Summerville, South Carolina. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, December 1938

DESERTED CHURCH, 1941. Deserted church at Sterlingville, New York, near Watertown. Photographed by Jack Delano, October 1941

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1939. A family arriving in a covered wagon from Kansas to work at the potato harvest, near Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, September 1939

IOWA: FACTORY TOWN, 1940. Photograph by John Vachon, taken at Dubuque, Iowa, 1940

THANKSGIVING, 1940. Thanksgiving meal in Ledyard, Connecticut. Photographed 1940 by Jack Delano

KENTUCKY RESIDENT, 1935. Resident of Smithland, Kentucky. Photographed September 1935 by Ben Shahn

RURAL TRANSPORTATION, 1940. A car stuck in a creek bed after an attempted crossing; the mule was used to pull out the car

MISSOURI: FARM SALE, 1939. Horse is paraded before prospective buyers at a farm sale in Pettis County, Missouri. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein in November 1939

INDIANA: FARM SALE, 1937. Auctioning off a team of horses at the closing-out sale of Frank Sheroan, tenant farmer, near Montmorenci, Indiana. Photographed by Russell Lee in February 1937

COTTON SHARECROPPER, 1935. Hale County, Alabama. Photographed by Walker Evans, 1935

TEENAGE SHARECROPPER. Thirteen-year-old sharecropper boy near Americus, Georgia. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1937

ILLINOIS: GROCERY STORE. A grocery store in Salem, Illinois. Photograph, 1940, Arthur Rothstein

BURLINGTON ZEPHYR, 1940. Awaiting the arrival of the Burlington Zephyr in East Dubuque, Illinois. Photograph, 1940, by John Vachon

MEXICAN WORKER, 1937. A Mexican sugar beet worker near Fisher, Minnesota. Photograph, 1937, by Russell Lee

MIGRANT MOTHER. A mother holding her baby in front of her shack in the rural South during the 1930s

LEMENTARY SCHOOL, 1937. An elementary classroom for migrant children at Skyline Farms, Alabama. Oil over photograph by Arthur Rothstein, February, 1937

STREETSIDE GAMES, 1938. Streetside games in New York City. Photographed by Walker Evans in 1938

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"Capturing the Struggles and Resilience: The Farm Security Administration" The Farm Security Administration (FSA) played a crucial role in documenting the hardships faced by Americans during the Great Depression. Through powerful photographs, such as Dorothea Lange's iconic "Migrant Mother, " we are transported to a camp for migrant workers in Nipomo, California, where Florence Thompson and her seven children epitomize the resilience of those seeking better lives. In 1936, Arthur Rothstein's lens captured a haunting image of a dust storm engulfing the Texas panhandle—a stark reminder of the devastating impact of drought on farmers' livelihoods. Meanwhile, coal miners sitting in a mining car in West Virginia symbolize both their arduous labor and their contribution to powering America. The FSA also shed light on environmental challenges like drought and grasshoppers through images like that of a man fleeing these calamities in Montana. Similarly, African American migrant workers' shacks in Belle Glade, Florida—photographed by Russell Lee—highlighted racial inequalities prevalent at that time. Bud Fields and his family from Hale County, Alabama became symbols of sharecroppers struggling to make ends meet amidst economic hardship. A field filled with Burley tobacco serves as an example of agricultural practices during this era while Francis Grose's portrait represents one individual among many affected by these circumstances. Furthermore, an image capturing a farmer opening gates to allow water into fields from irrigation ditches showcases efforts made towards sustainable farming practices even during challenging times. Coal miner's child using a hole in the door to enter depicts how adversity seeped into every aspect of life for working-class families. Even Christmas Day was not spared from poverty; Earl Pauley's home in Smithfield, Iowa witnessed meager celebrations with potatoes, cabbage, and pie being served as dinner—an enduring testament to resourcefulness amidst scarcity.