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Posted in Pennsylvania December 14, 2015 by Christi

17 Rare Photos Taken In Pennsylvania During The Great Depression

The Great Depression was one of the darkest times in recent American history. Maybe you, your parents, or your grandparents were alive to witness the period of destitution that lasted through the 1930s and 40s. Here are some striking photographs taken in Pennsylvania during the Great Depression, some of which were taken by iconic photographers of the era.

1. A carpenter takes a step outside in Westmoreland County in 1935.

2. This 1935 billboard advertises a circus near Uniontown.

3. This Hungarian miner worked in Calumet, Pennsylvania for 34 years before finding himself unemployed with no pension.

4. Bethlehem Steel and a graveyard in Bethlehem in November, 1935.

5. A workman smiles in a coal yard near The South Street Bridge, Philadelphia.

6. A group of miners in Mount Pleasant prepares to go underground.

7. An elderly man snoozes on his porch near Washington, PA.

8. A ghost town near Canton, photographed in April 1936.

9. The Pittsburgh waterfront in 1936.

10. These boys are busy salvaging coal from slag heaps at Nanty Glo.

11. Another shot of the boys salvaging coal at Nanty Glo.

12. Coal gatherers earned ten cents for every 100 pounds, and earned between one and two dollars a day.

13. A family gathers around their table for dinner in Bedford County.

14. A resident of Chaneysville stands in front of a grist mill that is still in operation today.

15. Here's a scene photographed on the outskirts of Shenandoah.

16. A poultry buyer loads chickens in Lancaster County.

17. A sale sign in a shop window in West Philadelphia.

Wow. Do you know of any stories from the Great Depression first hand?

Christi

Christi is from Allentown and currently lives and goes to school in Pittsburgh.