The Great Depression was one of the darkest times in recent American history. Maybe you, your parents, or your grandparents were alive to witness the period of destitution that lasted through the 1930s and 40s. Here are some striking photographs taken in Pennsylvania during the Great Depression, some of which were taken by iconic photographers of the era.
- A carpenter takes a step outside in Westmoreland County in 1935.
Walker Evans/ Yale
- This 1935 billboard advertises a circus near Uniontown.
Ben Shahn/ Yale
- This Hungarian miner worked in Calumet, Pennsylvania for 34 years before finding himself unemployed with no pension.
Ben Shahn/ Yale
- Bethlehem Steel and a graveyard in Bethlehem in November, 1935.
Walker Evans/ Yale
- A workman smiles in a coal yard near The South Street Bridge, Philadelphia.
Paul Vanderbilt/ Yale
- A group of miners in Mount Pleasant prepares to go underground.
Carl Mydans/ Yale
- An elderly man snoozes on his porch near Washington, PA.
Dorothea Lange/ Yale
- A ghost town near Canton, photographed in April 1936.
Paul Carter/ Yale
- The Pittsburgh waterfront in 1936.
Arthur Rothstein/ Yale
- These boys are busy salvaging coal from slag heaps at Nanty Glo.
Ben Shahn/ Yale
- Another shot of the boys salvaging coal at Nanty Glo.
Ben Shahn/ Yale
- Coal gatherers earned ten cents for every 100 pounds, and earned between one and two dollars a day.
Ben Shahn/ Yale
- A family gathers around their table for dinner in Bedford County.
Arthur Rothstein/ Yale
- A resident of Chaneysville stands in front of a grist mill that is still in operation today.
Arthur Rothstein/ Yale
- Here’s a scene photographed on the outskirts of Shenandoah.
Sheldon Dick/ Yale
- A poultry buyer loads chickens in Lancaster County.
Sheldon Dick/ Yale
- A sale sign in a shop window in West Philadelphia.
Paul Vanderbilt/ Yale
Wow. Do you know of any stories from the Great Depression first hand?
Walker Evans/ Yale
Ben Shahn/ Yale
Paul Vanderbilt/ Yale
Carl Mydans/ Yale
Dorothea Lange/ Yale
Paul Carter/ Yale
Arthur Rothstein/ Yale
Sheldon Dick/ Yale
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