These 17 Photos Show Life In West Virginia In 1935

West Virginia, like everywhere else, has come a long way since the mid-30s. We were only 70 years into our statehood and in the middle of a depression. Everything from the way we dress to the ways we educate our children has changed. Here are a few photos that show what life in West Virginia looked like back then.

Here’s a photo of a Fourth of July celebration at Terra Alta.

Walker Evans LC-USF3301-009014

Here, some school children play in Reedsville.

Elmer Johnson LC-USF34-001080

A barge goes down the Kanawha River in the vicinity of Eleanor.

Unknown/Library of Congress LC-USF34-092019

Here’s a shot from Mainstreet in Morgantown. Notice the bank signs behind the men.

Walker Evans/Library of Congress LC-USF3301-009023

These women are selling cake on the sidewalk in Scotts Run.

Walker Evans/ Library of Congress LC-USF3301-009005

A nurse tends to school children in Reedsville.

Elmer Johnson LC-USF34-001086

Here’s a group of school kids posing for the camera in Omar.

Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-USF33-006191

This is what the post office in Henshaw looked like.

Ben Shahn/ Library of Congress LC-USF33-006148

Children are taught in a one room school house in Red House.

Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-USF33-006145

Here’s a filling station located in Reedsville.

Walker Evans/Library of Congress/ LC-USF342-T01-000848

This was the interior of an unemployed man’s house in Morgantown.

Walker Evans/Library of Congress LC-USF342-T01-000889

These houses were typical in Morgantown.

Walker Evans LC-USF342-T01-000850

Here, some children are gathered in the town of Omar.

Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8a16676

Here, a doctor examines the throat of a young boy in Reedsville.

Elmer Johnson LC-USF34-001063

Here are women volunteers making lunch at a school in Reedsville.

Elmer Johnson/Library of Congress LC-USF34-001004

Look at the fashions these women are wearing at a Fourth of July celebration at Terra Alta.

Walker Evans/ Library of Congress LC-USF3301-009022

People are milling around outside this restaurant in Omar.

credit: Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8a16920

Which one of these photos was your favorite?