1930 USA - The Dust Bowl Migration in Real Photos

See 1930s America Like You've Never Seen it Before!
The mid-1930s marked the peak of the Dust Bowl, a period when the skies over the Great Plains often darkened for days, shrouded in thick dust that blotted out the sun. These were not ordinary storms; they were monstrous clouds of soil, miles high and sometimes hundreds of miles wide, propelled by the relentless winds.
The dust storms, or "black blizzards" as they were called, became a near-constant menace, devastating crops, killing livestock, and invading the very air that people breathed. Homes were buried, and entire landscapes were altered, with some areas losing topsoil to depths of several feet.
Families watched helplessly as their farms, the products of generations of hard work, were engulfed by dust. Children wore dust masks to school, and homemakers hung wet sheets over windows in futile attempts to keep the grime out. Respiratory problems became rampant, dubbed "dust pneumonia," and many families faced the heart-wrenching decision to leave their homes in search of creating a better life somewhere else.
#historicalphotos #greatdepression #lifeinamerica

[@marybeck7594]

Our family in belpre kansas went through this. (just like the grapes of wrath) for those who remember.

[@donaldpiper9763]

Both of my parents were born and raised during the great depression. Mom was from a family of 9 children,Dad was from a family of 4 . They raised us right ,teaching us from lessons learned . My grandparents all born at the end of the 19th century all made a huge impact on my life .

[@MrMitchellw16]

The storyline of this video has many striking parallels to Grapes of Wrath, quite good Cliffs Notes for the book to get the gist of it

[@darrellcaraway6068]

Mine were out of Enid

[@darrellcaraway6068]

Mine were out of Enid

[@sully0001]

My family grew up in Missouri, my grandmother talked about seeing the dust storms rolling in

[@TheHistoryLounge]

From the descriptions I read from people who lived through it, it was almost other-worldly.

[@ppkaci]

my grandma lived in nebraska during the dust bowl, she would tell us stories about their farm animals dying, and being stuck inside for days with little to eat. using potato sacks for clothes because they were so poor, and not really knowing they were poor because everyone else was too. as a kid i couldnt really imagine all that hardship, but now that im older i know it must have been horrible. great job on this video.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you! Yes, some of the stories around this era are truly tragic. And to have it happen right in the middle of the Depression. These folks went through a lot!

[@donaldpiper9763]

@@TheHistoryLoungeMy parents and grandparents lived through it and told me a lot about it.They taught me to be thankful for what you’ve got and be grateful that your needs are met ,anything left over for wants is pure gravy ! A lesson that would hold well for this throw away world we live in now . How quickly they seem to forget the past .

[@TheHistoryLounge]

@@donaldpiper9763 Great advice from your grandparents!

[@pdrphil8159]

My grandpa was headed to California from West Virginia to look for work. He was in an old model A Ford that had seen better days . He would stop at any garage & get their used motor oil because his engine was worn out & burned a quart of oil an hour... He was going across Okla in 1937 and he saw a wall of dust headed right at him. Nothing he could do but stop & let it pass.. He said when it hit , it was dark as midnight . As the hours went by he kept wetting a cloth to cover his mouth , which turned to mud , even inside his old rig. As the storm subsided , he headed for the next town.. His radiator was plugged with dust and causing the motor to run hot . By the time he got to the next town , his motor was completely shot ... He didnt have the money to fix it or buy another car .. But he saw a Model A buried in dust at an old farmstead and knocked on the door . An old farmer answered & my grandfather asked it the motor was any good & could he buy it.. The old farmer said , I cant sell you that one , but in the barn he had a motor that might work... As it turned out , the motor was in a makeshift hay wagon the old farmer had converted for use on the farm.. My grandpa & the old man changed the motor . My grandpa said the motor ran like a champ ... He gave the old man $10 for his motor , and the farmer gave him $5 in change .. The old farmer said I was born here & I will die here and that his many children helped them financially.. My grandpa got back on the road , but when he got to California , state troopers were stopping people not from California & turning them around , telling them they could'nt come in... My grandpa turned around , but crossed at a different location.. He got a job working at a sawmill , but he missed his family & after 8 months he went home , loaded up his family and went to Michigan in hopes of a job in the auto industry... He got a job at the Rouge Ford plant where he worked until he was drafted into WW2 .. When he returned from europe & 2 years of infantry , he went back to Ford .. He retired with 40 yrs under his belt ... He never spoke about his war years , but he told me his dust bowl story more times than I can remember ... He always had respect for the farmers & what they went through ...

[@italianlifestyle7911]

Wow.. unbelievable captures of such wretched times!😯

[@NamVet68SigBn523]

My grandmother, living in Ness City, Kansas told us kids about it. She said they would put wet towels around the windows and doors, but the dust was so fine it would find it's way in anyway.

[@blondie6549]

My parents said this. Texas Panhandle 😢❤

[@hillbillytrucker8347]

I'm in Southern Appalachia and I remember hearing my elders that grew up during the 30s talk about the dust that blew in from the dust bowl when the wind was right. If i remember the stories right they said it would darken the sky during the day and you could taste the dirt and grit in air. Thank you for sharing this with us look forward to seeing more interesting videos in the future.

[@wdtaut5650]

Big dust storms, but not as big as the 30s, continued into the 1950s. We lived in South Texas and I remember looking to the north and seeing the dust clouds over a hundred miles away.

[@blondie6549]

@@wdtaut5650grew up in Texas Panhandle. I remember the dirt pelting my legs as we wore only dresses to school. ‘50s. But nothing compared to what my precious parents & grands went through. 😢❤

[@johnl5316]

these were very warm years, warmer for longer than today, in fact

[@MrMitchellw16]

My father used to tell stories of an old man he worked with in a warehouse without heat or air conditioning. Whenever anybody complained of the temperatures his response was always, "You should've been here in 36'" Looking back at the wether records, he wasn't exaggerating, the records reflect his sentiments

[@DeLiverpool]

I have read "The Grapes of Wrath". These pictures and that book just belong together.

[@jaysverrisson1536]

"The Grapes of Wrath" was also made into a great movie, released 1940, that won two Oscars (including Best Director) plus additional nominations--check it out!

[@DeLiverpool]

@@jaysverrisson1536 Yes I know about that movie. I've only seen one or two scenes of it but I can dig it up somewhere no doubt. Thank you for the tip.

[@olvinyldude]

yes indeed ! And that great director was a Veteran of the OSS, WWII .... a hero as well@@jaysverrisson1536

[@drhkleinert8241]

@@DeLiverpool I remember the movie ends when Tom Joad leaves but in the book the story continues. Great book. And: bec the pics here are in high quality colored it is more real than old b/w pics, so the people looks like real living humans, not pics from history.

[@kevinmontgomery1383]

@@DeLiverpool It is on KZbin! I watched it a week ago.

[@Alaska_Gal]

I used to take care of somebody who lived through this. Boy, did she have some interesting stories.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

I bet!

[@BillySBC]

The sign at 5:50 that says "Next Time Try The Train" was damn good advice at the time.

[@Go4Corvette]

My family were farmers and ranchers in Texas. When things change you pick up and move. The environment is always changing, and you need to change with it. Don't waste money on trying to stop it like we do today keep moving forward with your life.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

Yup Igrew up in Spearman in the early 70's. The old timers told us some hard tails of those times.

[@olvinyldude]

yes indeed...why we always need to listen to our elders...History... we must always keep it with us@@thomaslthomas1506

[@robertmorris2313]

The best thoughts I have heard in a long time.

[@tttyuhbbb9823]

​@@thomaslthomas1506 ...tales...

[@jimmychanbers2424]

A lot of folks headed west,before the Hoover Dam job. Brave people back then. They believed in God and didn't look back.

[@Blend-24]

My aunt married a “dust bowl Okie” They were not well received by Californians during that era. Uncle Jeff told stories of being hated by both kids and teachers. They hung out together as a result. He also told of very bad times that he and his siblings would go out dumpster diving for food. The great depression was a hard time and I am glad I was born decades following.

[@blondie6549]

😢

[@drhkleinert8241]

Yes, its a funny detail that many states were the dust-bowl but the commom name for the people became Okies... Bad times and danger for own life changes anything. In the US they gets Roosevelt and his New Deal, Europe gets Hitler and Mussolini.

[@shaneinaz00]

Amazing video thank you for doing these. My fam was in the Midwest since 1858, tough peeps back then. 🙏😊

[@TheHistoryLounge]

I'm glad you liked it - tough peeps, indeed!

[@alandavis9644]

My Grandfather, John Davis, survived the drough and dust storms, the ranch is still in the Davis family. Its east of 83 highway after you cross the Beaver river south bound. It stretches a few miles to the east. Great photos.

[@RadianceRush]

Great video! Beautiful pictures!

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you - I'm glad you liked the video!

[@sandweiler4640]

Watching this from Luxembourg where we just had rain like 10 days in a row…

[@tttyuhbbb9823]

10 days in a week!... That's really terrible! 😂😂😅😂😂

[@wdgbirmingham2]

8:42 my Daddy was born in '35, he would have been 3 years old like the little boys in the front. He's currently 88, not 90's

[@davidwoods7408]

Same!

[@brucestaples4510]

Kevin, Thanks, once again, for a wonderful compilation, complete with appropriate music, enlightening narration, and, as always, an outstanding, overall production.👍

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you, Bruce!

[@JoeL-zb1yd]

In a documentary a man said: "The soil was just blow-sand and blow-dirt. You couldn't get a weed to grow in it."

[@davidwoods7408]

So many towns and cities had signs at the cities limits stating "No Work" or "No Okies". My parents and grandparents told of the discrimination and why there are hard feelings still toward the west coast.

[@drhkleinert8241]

In most cases No Work was the truth.

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@19800910]

This way great! You can see the hope in there eyes as they were in a FSA camp.

[@jsat5609]

Will Rogers said the Dust Bowl migrations from Oklahoma to California raised the average IQ in both states 20 points. 3:55 Yellow stop sign, good and AUTHENTIC! I think I recall reading once that they were not able to develop a fade resistant red paint until about 1950 or so. I was born in 51, and they've been red ever since I can remember.

[@hotrodray6802]

Northern Illinois. In 58 we built a new fence row. In 92 the dirt had built up a foot deep at its bottom. Not even the dust bowl years. 😳

[@philliphoward7455]

Thanks for the video. Both of my parents were young adults by the time the depression hit but weren't married yet. I remember my father telling of sporadic work, " what you could find ", and my mother's frugal nature. As someone once said, " Those hard lessons stay with you for a lifetime ".

[@user-wm4mb8vu5r]

Excellent job on the photos. Interesting in seeing them in that day of time.

[@9cGFNRH]

Well done History Lounge...

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thanks!

[@WOLFIE-96B-UK]

Fascinating but sad pictures of a terrible time for so many people.

[@drhkleinert8241]

Think about how many people died that time, old people, children, newborn...how tough they all had been. Not a snowflake generation. Tough like the old Pioneers.

[@russellfreestone8580]

I am not from the US but have always had an interest in that period ,you have done an excellent job producing colour images.

[@lisacooper3991]

I've read so much on this happening..if all the trees hadn't been cut down, it wouldn't have been like that. Great video.. thanks for sharing

[@ceeejeee]

Amazing photos.

[@dwv1000]

Yeah, not so amazing, they have all been fiddled with. Just can't leave history alone. Color pics trash.

[@danielthoman7324]

They had color pictures back in those days

[@brendachilders8075]

My grandparents reminded us kids how lucky we were that the rains came… our parents were too young to remember the hardships too… Colby Kansas and Benkleman Nebraska is where my folks originated…

[@terrybutler1911]

Heart wrenching. so sad.

[@kimdelong3429]

Drought was a factor! Rainfall crashed on the plains for several years!

[@estelleadamski308]

My dad who was born & raised in western Kansas certainly remembers the dust, sky turning black & the wind. They stayed, as they own the land. Part of the homestead act, my grandmother's father gave her. My grandpa was a skilled carpenter and made a $1 a day, he always found work, but had to travel for it. So they did pretty well. My mom, on the other hand, did not fare well. She lived in the city in OK. and the dad ran off. My grandma could not feed her 8 kids and they were often hungry. They did move to CA and my grandma & the older kids worked picking fruit. Tough times, for sure.

[@stev838]

They outlawed hemp 27. Giant dozers leveled the state to kill the hemp ( wild hemp ). Then the soil blew away 28 then the bread basket collapsed 30 thru 34

[@kevinmontgomery1383]

If that don't beat all.

[@stev838]

@@kevinmontgomery1383 I know Amazing but real . Took a while to put it together , in the early eighties that is . Now you would be hard pressed to find anything about it . I have only seen one photo of the giant dozers . But some where there is a film short about it .

[@kevinmontgomery1383]

@@stev838 Hey, thanks for your response. All I had heard, was that it was caused by bad farming practices. this makes a lot more sense! And, much more ironic.

[@stev838]

Ya. It’s tragic. The wild hemp was the bases for the eco system . It held the soil , fixed nitrogen and gave cover to all the various seedlings . The trees grew up out of it . And the Buffalo churned the soil every year . Until 1903 you could pay your taxes with hemp . The first flags , blankets and uniforms were made from it . George Washington was sworn in wearing a hemp suit . It made the ink the paper and the color of our money , And still does .

[@kevinmontgomery1383]

@@stev838I imagine snakes, lizards, and all manner of rodents had all kinds of uses for it too. Killing off the circle of life, for every living thing in the area.

[@gregorycoates9643]

Tough times but the people were resilient and found a way to survive.

[@drhkleinert8241]

My dad tell me many stories from his flee from the eastern areas of the third reich at the end of the war (he was 13) and after the war germany was completely bombed down, no infrastructure, no economy, nothing. The winter were really cold (35 below zero Celsius), they lived in a damaged house without windows and only plastic sheet as glass in one room with one oven (8 or 9 persons, most children), less wood for fire. At day the kids had to walk 10 or 15 km through deep snow for to be famers for an egg or a potato. I mean, my Dad often say "I dont know how we survived that time". People can. if its real necessary. But todays people? Hmm. They are going to die when they cant use their phones for two days.

[@z978ady]

There are still bald spots throughout the dust bowl to this day. Good photographic coverage.

[@jimmychanbers2424]

What name is the steel guitar music at 2:17 ? Sure pretty

[@user-gd8wy5ox5t]

I grew up in that area in the 60s, didn't seem much different from the pictures

[@MrBobconner1952]

My grandparents were sharecroppers, turned "Okie" nomads, from Oklahoma during the dust bowl years. They migrated to a ranch, called Tal Wi Wi, outside Bumstead, AZ, where they and five of their seven children lived in a 12' x 12' tent while harvesting dates, citrus, and cotton in AZ and CA. They had a lot fascinating stories and always remarked about "eating the only food available, turnips, for breakfast, lunch and dinner" before they were forced to leave OK.

[@dieseldavetrains8988]

Reminds me of the HBO TV series "Carnivale" set in that era. I get dust storms here, red dust, usually during a drought, no matter how well you think you have sealed up the house it still gets in! Depression and prolonged drought a bad recipe for farmers. Excellent series of pictures depicting the era, didn't see many smiling faces, those poor families on the road doing it tough. In the 1980's I spoke to an old man from Kansas when I was travelling the USA, he said..."I know it sounds wrong to say this but WW-II was a macabre blessing to many forced off the land with no work, no income and a family to feed, the army meant three meals a day, a cot to sleep in and a small wage to send home, it gave many of us hope..."🤔

[@hoss6048]

My dad picked in the fields when he came from Oklahoma. They made it out from that meager existence through education and service

[@dawns4641]

I read the reason it happened, the farmers were cutting all the native grasses, it caused the top soil to kick up.

[@joeguzman3558]

And remember, there were very few gas stations along the way

[@haroldhunter4671]

Clean the cameras and get ready. The '30's were awful but nothing for what is about to unfold beginning soon. People years from now will be interested, if any survive.

[@lindasue4237]

Ironic that the billboard says "Next Time Try The Train" when a lot of these folk didn't have shoes or much to eat on their migration.

[@jimmydickson8854]

Tough times 80 years or so these tents are still there in the streets of California ,old jimmy

[@casedoumasr656]

This is a real eye opener that alot of people are unaware of.When my moms folks left Iowa to California they found a small house and one Friday fall evening her dad was out on the front porch about 10pm reading the local paper reading by Oil field fire's that lite up the sky. Lots of oil fires going on all the time back then and Black smoke thru out the days 🤔

[@tomgatch2]

"I'll be everywhere. ... Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. ... " Tom Joad. 😑 ~ John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath.

[@30pvfd]

Great pictures there by the grace of god go I

[@tomkemp8497]

I remember living in one of those camps when I was very small .

[@olvinyldude]

Spent a few days in the great town of Kenton, OK...(Last town in the panhandle) & spoke with a great ole man, that grew up there, & remembered the Dust Bowl well...talked of all the women running scared, had no idea what was happening...Must have been frightening, have to remember, was no news, TV, cell phone, nothing to give people a notice of what was happening... They thought it was end of all times.... But they all made it, moved on with lives

[@walkinlovefaith2304]

Kenton Ok was just about the dead center of the dust bowl. I grew up in Perryton Tx not too far from there.

[@user-dk1rr6lk7k]

My kin folk still live in Kansas all the me have passed on, but the women folk are still there ,the town in ULUSSIS still looks the same as it did in the 30s. I small post office, 1 red light , 1 police man. , still today , time has forgotten this town .!!!

[@sandyzeiss2589]

Take a pause, to read the comments also.

[@larryimus9527]

Even on the late 40’s and early 50’s, I remember these folks coming through Arizona on Route 66, headed for California.

[@richardyoung4616]

Drought was not a factor, human greed caused it. With new tractors, farmers ripped up 10s of thousands of acres of Buffalo grass to plant wheat. When the market dropped all this land was left barren. Look it up!

[@hotrodray6802]

He did say AND land mismanagement.

[@JoeL-zb1yd]

Drought was a factor. They prayed for rain.

[@NBZW]

Really disagree with the greed comment, if you’re business is farming one needs to improve their methods, weather was the culprit. Look it up !!! Without water crops don’t grow, maybe your dream world is different but reality is real.

[@joeguzman3558]

Lots of people don't understand that ww2 helped America come out of the depression time with factories jobs

[@joeguzman3558]

This was during the depression time on top of everything

[@jimcarter4929]

My Mom, her parents and siblings left Drumwright , Ok. during these hard times and came to California. Mom said they put everything they could carry on a Model T truck and left. At first they worked as farm workers but eventually my grandfather got a carpenter job and the kids got married and moved on. ///then WW2 came and several of Moms brothers went to war and her sisters worked at war industry jobs in the bay area. My father and his brothers where also in the war. My Mother always commented how accurate "The Grape of Wrath' was.

[@drhkleinert8241]

And in fact the War made the US to the incredible and gigantig State it is now. Millions of hungry men had a payed job now and the economy explodes in gigantic dimensions. The United States are the only country of the WW2 who hadnt no war inside the land, no bombed citys etc.

[@jeffhoward553]

Pictures of todays California looks lot worse than the dust bowl picture

[@acardiac5983]

Who thought it was a great idea to take pictures while everyone was struggling?

[@daviddillon6794]

Marie, Frank and Vern.

[@raylowe3324]

Not only was there drought, it was the hottest weather in modern history worldwide.

[@blueterrace]

What cured the dust bowl?

[@roykey3422]

Rain.

[@chiil034]

@@roykey3422 and new farming practices, like crop rotation, contour plowing/terracing and planting cover crops... the govt later incentivized these practices.

[@calcrappie8507]

Half of the states all-time high and low temperatures were set in the 1930s.

[@alanoneill3065]

Tragic

[@NBZW]

Tent towns in California until the late 40’s was not uncommon.

[@alandavis9644]

The people are now leaving Commiefornia and returning to the places they left. My family made it through the dust bowl, stayed and we still have the 7,700 acres of ranch and farmland.

[@robertjones2020]

Look at all the childern people have

[@remylopez4821]

Unfortunately, it’s not a dustbowl, but California starting to look like that error. Once again only now they’re called homeless encampments.

[@marshaharris4268]

So right

[@skipperclinton1087]

remylopez: Now it's called the 'shit bowl'!

[@JoeL-zb1yd]

So is Phoenix, Arizona.

[@tobascoheat6582]

Yeah! I was thinking the same thing! Only where is the great event that has put people out on the streets this time? There's no 'Dust Bowl' to point to, so what has caused this now?? It's like a poverty epidemic that transcends race, gender, age group, and socio-econmic level.

[@mimiene6535]

Pictures of that white privilege we hear so much about.

[@scaredy-cat]

Just don’t know how these Americans survived years of this ecological disaster

[@brentsummers7377]

7:26 How America looked after its people 80 years ago. And Biden thinks he deserves another term??😂😂

[@MAXIMUSMINIMALIST]

He never won his first term.

[@anthonyk1234]

The original thumbnail was better

[@genekelley7579]

🛑🛑 If the Dust Bowls happened today, the “Greenies” would call for the end of Gas Fired Hot Water Tanks, Gas Fired Stoves; let a alone we would all be driving Foot Powered Flintstone Cars. 😆👍💯

[@user-xs3ws1nj1e]

Dust bowl???, How is this possible, climatologists tell us that it was cooler and wetter in the past, either this is wrong, or we are being lied to.

[@robertzaske5321]

there where the salt of the earth god bless them all

[@scathson]

Once again, auto or AI colorized photos turning everything purple or at least, everything tinged purple - colorization done properly requires human intervention

[@hotrodray6802]

I liked it

[@bruceburch8301]

Midwest people came to California to escape the dust bowl.now California is on fire, drowning or having earthquakes! Climate change,😢

[@sully0001]

The Dust Bowl was created by poor farm management. People in the east sold land in Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado for wheat growing. They tore up the Prarie grasses, and exposed the top soil. It doesn't rain enough out here to substantiate growing wheat. So when the dry season came the top soil blew away. This is the normal temperature for that region.

[@richardthomas1566]

How can the influx of migrants drive wages down ? They need to say these large farms took advantage of the workers by paying them less knowing they could be replaced. They all wanted fair wages that farmer did not reduce the price of his produce because he could beat his help down on their wages .

[@MAXIMUSMINIMALIST]

You've got to be kidding 😂😂😂 what a stark reminder that our government schools are a failure!

[@barnacles62]

Give Biden another term, the whole country will be just like this again.....

[@sallypettit7156]

Not caused by dust though.

[@hotrodray6802]

That light brown snow was really hot

[@ValerieDee123]

They were called Hoovervilles. Much like todays Bidenvilles

[@danieldayton3497]

Ruined by colorization as usual

[@Tom6649-pt7js]

Now everyone is leaving commie oregon and for good reason

[@tttyuhbbb9823]

Your music is even worse than the Dust Bowl! 🤨

[@daleolson3506]

The music junked another video 👎👎👎👎👎💩💩💩😬

[@rollinmckim4719]

Dust clouds a mile into the sky sounds like bullcrappa to me. For miles around, not so much.

[@hotrodray6802]

Airplanes existed then.

[@xxxYYZxxx]

Great colorization. Obviously wasn't generated by Google AI. 😂