A person’s home can say a lot about them and their life. If a stranger were to look around your home, inside and out, what would they have to say about you? Here’s a look at a few Arizona homes from 75 or so years ago. Let’s see what their residences reveal about their lives.

1. These old shacks sat on the outskirts of Tombstone in 1940. I wonder how long they stood there?
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
2. This photo shows what typical housing looked like for Mexican (and, in some cases, Oklahomans) farm workers in 1937.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
3. On the other hand, some were disheveled homes awkwardly pieced together. These ones were found in Casa Grande in May 1937 and were housing for cotton field laborers.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Two residents up close. I can't imagine how hot that must get in the summer.
4. In other areas, migrant farm workers lived in tent communities, like these in Pinal County.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
And a peek inside at a mother fixing her child's hair.
5. Here's a look at a row of metal, more permanent homes for other laborers.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
6. One of those homes up close. The homes were small and about the size of a shed you would find on most properties today.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
7. Here's another look at one of the metal agricultural shelters in Agua Fria along with the resident planting flowers outside. The photographer noted that migrant workers could stay 364 days (and not a day longer) but were allowed to make small improvements like this.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
8. These migrant homes look less like shanties or sheds and were created for permanent agricultural workers in Agua Fria in 1940.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
9. Described as the home of a tenant purchase client, this shows one of the ways in which residents cooled their homes in the middle of summer in Maricopa County.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Does anyone recall doing this before air conditioning?
10. Here is an adobe home in Concho in 1940.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar

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Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This old woman in Concho sits in her home next to a small shrine in 1940 Concho.
11. This adobe home, also located in Concho in 1940, has chiles drying all along the sides of the house.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This woman, perhaps the home's resident, is prepping her chiles so she can dry and sell them. The photographer noted the chiles were this woman's main cash crop.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This farmer's wife is doing the same thing I am tonight: sorting beans for tomorrow's dinner.
12. This is a merchant home, also located in Concho. Looks nice!
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This woman is arranging some of the trinkets sitting in her Concho home.
13. Here's an example of some brand new housing for mining employees in Morenci back in 1942.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
14. A little house at Camelback Farms in Phoenix circa 1942. The little pond outside is a nice touch.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This woman is doing some laundry at home in her electric washing machine in 1940.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
This photo shows an image of an apartment kitchen in Chandler circa 1936. That stove is tiny by today's standards but I love it!
15. Here is Taliesin West in 1940, during what seems to be shortly after construction.
Library of Congress/Photogrammar
Seems luxurious compared to how other homes looked.

What differences do you notice between how people live today and how they lived nearly a century ago? Do you have any stories about how your family lived during this time period? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

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