When it comes to a great place to live in terms of weather, job opportunities, and things to do, Colorado continues to reign as king. That got us wondering… has it always been this way? What did life look like here in Colorado long ago? To investigate, we dug up some fascinating photos from the mid-1930s and early 1940s. Check them out:

1. They sure don't make trucks like this anymore, do they? (1936)
Flickr/Richard
Pictured is an old Ford Model-T Truck (c. 1920s) that served as transportation for Denver Ice & Cold Storage.
2. Eastern Colorado was greatly affected by the Dust Bowl, as demonstrated by this dirt cloud over Prowers County. (1935)
Yale Photogrammar/Photographer Unknown
3. Located south of Prowers, Baca County was also hit hard by the Dust Bowl, due to its ample farmland and not nearly enough moisture. (1935)
Yale Photogrammar/J. H. Ward
4. According to photographer Jack Allison, "The mother said, 'I keep her dressed nice every day because she is the only girl I've got.'" (1938)
Yale Photogrammar/Jack Allison
This was snapped at the Great Western Sugar Company's beet sugar workers' colony near Hudson.
5. The little girl in the previous photo lived here; a low-income colony that contained 13 small adobe houses for than 50 residents. (1938)
Yale Photogrammar/Jack Allison
Housing was provided by their employer, the Great Western Sugar Company, which once produced the most beet sugar in all of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
6. Doesn't this group of Mesa Verde tourists seem thrilled?! (1939)
Yale Photogrammar/Russell Lee

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7. By 1939, the dust cleared out of Baca County, as shown here.
Yale Photogrammar/Russell Lee
Pictured above is Mr. Bosley of the Bosley Reorganization Unit as he feeds his pigs.
8. Can you imagine having to pick all of these potatoes by hand? (1939)
Yale Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
This potato farm was located in Rio Grande County.
9. Picking potatoes was not only adult work! (1939)
Yale Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
10. Children of resettlement families are shown here playing in a building that served as both their school and a community building. (1939)
Yale Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein
The settlement was in San Luis Valley Farms near Alamosa.
11. This may look like a small adobe home, but is actually an old schoolhouse! (1940)
Yale Photogrammar/Russell Lee
The Costilla County schoolhouse was located in the small town of Garcia.
12. While you may not see too many trains anymore, they used to be a vital part of Colorado's economy. (1940)
Yale Photogrammar/Russell Lee
Can you tell what these Montrose gentlemen are doing? They are unloading the newspapers off the train!
13. Last but not least is this shot of a lead and silver miner near the town of Creede. (1942)
Yale Photogrammar/Andreas Feininger

For even more vintage photography, click on 105 Years Ago, Colorado Was Hit With The Worst Blizzard In History.

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