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Illinois History

21 Rare Photos Taken In Illinois During The Great Depression

By Laura | Published December 15, 2015

I am always interested to see how people used to live. It gives you perspective and it can really make you appreciate what you have. In some cases, it can make you nostalgic for how things are. Here are 21 rare photos of Illinois.

1. Mules were used in place of tow trucks in Franklin County in 1939.

2. A man directs traffic in front of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1940.

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3. A man waits for a bus in front of a feed store in Peoria in 1938.

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4. A drunken fisherman hangs out in his trailer in Ottawa in 1937.

5. This gospel car is abandoned in Kewanee in 1937.

6. This mother and children hang out on a farm in De Kalb in 1942.

7. A woman walks into a grocery store in Marion in 1940.

8. Farmers hang out at a soil conservation meeting in Livingston County in 1937.

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9. Men shell corn into a car in Newton in 1937.

10. A girl listens to the radio in Crawford in 1940.

11. Doctors operate in Herrin in 1939.

12. A grain elevator stands in Gibson City in 1936.

13. Women work a canning job in Rochelle in 1942.

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14. A 1937 flood took its toll on this Maunie backyard.

15. An evangelist preaches a sermon in Cambria in 1939.

16. A chemist works on production of butylene glycol.

17. This is what a residential street in Elgin looked like in 1941.

18. People walk down State Street in Chicago in 1940.

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19. Men talk on the street in Danville in 1937.

20. Part of a circus is stranded in Urbana in 1925.

21. This is what movie theaters looked like in 1941 in Chicago.

Aren’t these awesome? If you have some super old photos hanging around, be sure to share them on the Only in Illinois Facebook page!

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