West Virginia, like everywhere else, has come a long way since the mid-30s. We were only 70 years into our statehood and in the middle of a depression. Everything from the way we dress to the ways we educate our children has changed. Here are a few photos that show what life in West Virginia looked like back then.

1. Here’s a photo of a Fourth of July celebration at Terra Alta.
Walker Evans LC-USF3301-009014
2. Here, some school children play in Reedsville.
Elmer Johnson LC-USF34-001080
3. A barge goes down the Kanawha River in the vicinity of Eleanor.
Unknown/Library of Congress LC-USF34-092019
4. Here’s a shot from Mainstreet in Morgantown. Notice the bank signs behind the men.
Walker Evans/Library of Congress LC-USF3301-009023
5. These women are selling cake on the sidewalk in Scotts Run.
Walker Evans/ Library of Congress LC-USF3301-009005
6. A nurse tends to school children in Reedsville.
Elmer Johnson LC-USF34-001086
7. Here’s a group of school kids posing for the camera in Omar.
Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-USF33-006191
8. This is what the post office in Henshaw looked like.
Ben Shahn/ Library of Congress LC-USF33-006148

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9. Children are taught in a one room school house in Red House.
Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-USF33-006145
10. Here’s a filling station located in Reedsville.
Walker Evans/Library of Congress/ LC-USF342-T01-000848
11. This was the interior of an unemployed man’s house in Morgantown.
Walker Evans/Library of Congress LC-USF342-T01-000889
12. These houses were typical in Morgantown.
Walker Evans LC-USF342-T01-000850
13. Here, some children are gathered in the town of Omar.
Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8a16676
14. Here, a doctor examines the throat of a young boy in Reedsville.
Elmer Johnson LC-USF34-001063
15. Here are women volunteers making lunch at a school in Reedsville.
Elmer Johnson/Library of Congress LC-USF34-001004
16. Look at the fashions these women are wearing at a Fourth of July celebration at Terra Alta.
Walker Evans/ Library of Congress LC-USF3301-009022
17. People are milling around outside this restaurant in Omar.
credit: Ben Shahn/Library of Congress LC-DIG-fsa-8a16920

Which one of these photos was your favorite?

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