The 1930s was not an easy decade for Americans or Virginians. Looking back at photographs of that era, there seems to be an abundance of determination, especially when times were tough. 80 years later, we look back at small towns in Virginia and admire the simple things that don’t seem to be as common any more.
- Chalkboards in schoolhouses
Arthur Rothstein/Photogrammar This photograph was taken at Corbin Hollow in 1935.
- Basket weaving for fairs
Arthur Rothstein/Photogrammar These baskets were made by the people of Nicholson Hollow.
- Cider and apple stands
Arthur Rothstein/Photogrammar
- Mills and waterwheels
Arthur Rothstein/Photogrammar
- Handbills advertising auctions
Photogrammar
- Privies
Russell Lee/flickr We’re grateful for indoor plumbing, but these outhouses look much nicer than some of the outdoor bathroom options you’ll find today. Photo taken in Rockingham County.
- Traffic of this variety
Jack Delano/Photogrammar Cars waiting in line for the Norfolk-Cape Charles Ferry.
- Tobacco scales
Marion Post Wolcott/Photogrammar Caswell County farmers would weigh-in tobacco before selling it at the auction in Danville.
- Diners to dress up for
John Vachon/Photogrammar A happy young couple at the Busy Bee diner in Radford.
- Fortune tellers
John Vachon/Photogrammar
- Lunch pails with home cooked meals
John Vachon/flickr Women who ran boarding homes would prepare lunches for the miners who stayed there.
- Christmas stores
John Vachon/Photogrammar The window display has such a quintessential small town feel with its dolls and Christmas toys.
These photographs remind us that small towns stuck together and remained a community despite hard times. It’s difficult not to feel nostalgia for some of these days gone by, when technology had not yet busied everyday living.
Arthur Rothstein/Photogrammar
This photograph was taken at Corbin Hollow in 1935.
These baskets were made by the people of Nicholson Hollow.
Photogrammar
Russell Lee/flickr
We’re grateful for indoor plumbing, but these outhouses look much nicer than some of the outdoor bathroom options you’ll find today. Photo taken in Rockingham County.
Jack Delano/Photogrammar
Cars waiting in line for the Norfolk-Cape Charles Ferry.
Marion Post Wolcott/Photogrammar
Caswell County farmers would weigh-in tobacco before selling it at the auction in Danville.
John Vachon/Photogrammar
A happy young couple at the Busy Bee diner in Radford.
John Vachon/flickr
Women who ran boarding homes would prepare lunches for the miners who stayed there.
The window display has such a quintessential small town feel with its dolls and Christmas toys.
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