Migration photos from the Library of Congress:

 

1

Typical of thousands of migrating agricultural laborers. California

2

Pumping water near Muskogee, Oklahoma. Daughters of farmer about to migrate to California

3

Farm boys from western Nebraska, now migrating farm workers on the Pacific Coast. Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon

4

Farm boys from western Nebraska, now migrating farm workers on the Pacific Coast. Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon

5

Father and son building house on outskirts of Salinas, California. Settlement of recently migrated lettuce workers

6

Richwood, West Virgninia. The mayor's office was used as a recruiting hall for the FSA (Farm Security Administration) supervised labor migration

7

Carrot pullers from Texas. Texas farmer on edge of carrot field. In California for two weeks, migrating after three years of crop failures. Combined earnings, man and wife tying carrots: One dollar and twelve cents a day

8

Winter migrant camp on the outskirts of Sacramento, California. Each family has to build its own shack; they pay one dollar and twenty-five cents a month ground rent, including water. Eighty families living here in November 1936. They work in the fruit during the summer, migrating from harvest to harvest

9

Getting ready to depart from home in Oklahoma for the trip to California. Near Muskogee, Oklahoma

10

Tracy (vicinity), California. Missouri family of five who are seven months from the drought area on U.S. Highway 99. "Broke, baby sick, and car trouble!"

11

War housing needs. Crowds of homeseekers wait in line for housing information in every "boom town" war housing center. Like millions of Americans who have migrated to busy industrial areas, these newcomers to San Francisco are hoping for news that a house, a room, or even a bed will be made available for them before the day is over

12

Old time professional migratory laborer camping on the outskirts of Perryton, Texas at opening of wheat harvest. With his wife and growing family, he has been on the road since marriage, thirteen years ago. Migrations include ranch land in Texas, cotton and wheat in Texas, cotton and timber in New Mexico, peas and potatoes in Idaho, wheat in Colorado, hops and apples in Yakima Valley, Washington, cotton in Arizona. He wants to buy a little place in Idaho

13

Fruit farmer clearing out irrigation ditch. Placer County, California. Irrigated farming is a new thing to this man who migrated from Oklahoma and has now bought a farm through the Federal Land Bank. Fruit farmers in this section are fast losing their farms due to long indebtedness to Federal Land Bank and many farms are being bought by Okies and Japanese who, because of lower living standards and willingness to grow gardens, cows and pigs instead of specializing exclusively in fruit, have a chance to make a go of the farms.

14

This man has obtained a government loan (FSA-Farm Security Administration) in Oklahoma. However, he migrated to Arizona two years ago and spent a year and a half there doing day labor in the cotton and sugar beet fields. He still has one son in Arizona doing day laborer work. Another son returned home to his family saying he wanted to be with them all and all would fare alike; the close family feeling is evident in this class of people. This man's main complaint was of the poor condition of his house. He said that owners would do nothing to help the farmer, "Why if I want a piece of wire to fix a fence, I have to steal it. Of course I have not done exactly that yet, but if I knew where there was a piece handy I would"