The Great Depression in the United States in color

These images, taken by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are the only color photos reflecting the effects of the Great Depression in rural areas and small towns. Color digital photos obtained by scanning color transparencies give an idea of America during the Great Depression, its industry, homes and attractions. All signatures were made by the authors of the photos and supplemented by the staff of the Library of Congress.

A store at the intersection of roads, a bar and a gas station near cotton plantations in Melrose, Louisiana, June 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Mar­i­on Post Wol­cott, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Bean growing field, Bridgeton, New Jersey, June 1942. Color slide. (Pho­to by John Col­lier, col­or trans­paren­cy, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C)

A view from Skyline Drive, Virginia, circa 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C)

A woman paints a picture with a view of the Shenandoah Valley near the Skyline Drive road near the entrance to the Appalachian Trail, Virginia, around 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C)

A farm in the mountains near Skyline Drive, Virginia, circa 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C)

Corn racks on a farm in the mountains near Skyline Drive, Virginia, circa 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C)

A farm in the mountains near Skyline Drive, Virginia, circa 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C)

Burning of fallen leaves in Norwich, Connecticut, November 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

View of the old seaside town of Stonington, Connecticut, November 1940. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Potato farm in Aroostook County, Maine, after harvest, October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Starch factory near the Aroostook River in the city of Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Industrial buildings in Lowell, Massachusetts, December 1940 or January 1941. The photo shows the buildings that were later converted into the Massachusetts Mills residential complex, located at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers in Lowell, Massachusetts. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

A used plumbing store in Brockton, Massachusetts, December 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

The Douglas Shoe Factory on Spark Street in Brockton, Massachusetts, December 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Train and snow-covered railroad tracks, Massachusetts, December 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

An industrial city in Massachusetts, possibly New Bedford, January 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Jackson Farm near White Plains, Georgia, June 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

The town of Christiansted in Santa Cruz (?), Virgin Islands, December 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Residential buildings near the church in the old part of the city, San Juan, December 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Jack Delano, col­or trans­paren­cy, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Catholic Church in the San Juan Valley, New Mexico, July or October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Farmland near the mountain peak of Sneffels, Oreille County, Colorado, October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Oreille, Colorado, October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

View of the valley from the gold mine "Camp Bird Mine" in Oreille County, Colorado, October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Fruit ranch owner's house, Delta County, Colorado, October 1940. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

A flour mill in Caldwell, Idaho, July 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Main Street in Cascade, Idaho, July 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

A creamery in Caldwell, Idaho, July 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Cherry orchards, farmland, and a ditch in Emmett, Idaho, July 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or trans­paren­cy, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

A wheat farm in Walla Walla, Washington, July 1941. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Construction of the Shasta Dam in California, June 1942. Color slide. (Pho­to by Rus­sell Lee, col­or trans­paren­cy, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Lincoln, Nebraska, 1942. Color slide. (Pho­to by John Vachon, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

A church near Junction City, Kansas, 1942 or 1943. Color slide. (Pho­to by John Vachon, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

The road leading from Romney, West Virginia, 1942 or 1943. (Pho­to by John Vachon, col­or slide, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

Wisdom, Montana, April 1942. (Pho­to by John Vachon, col­or trans­paren­cy, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)

A cabin in the southern United States, circa 1940. (Pho­to by John Vachon, col­or trans­paren­cy, Library of Con­gress Prints and Pho­tographs Divi­sion Wash­ing­ton, D.C.)