The entire nation suffered during the Great Depression that followed in the wake of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. But each part of the country was affected in different ways. In New Mexico, farmers were the hardest hit. The economic crisis combined with a long drought that actually turned New Mexico into part of the Dust Bowl. A 1937 dust storm was so massive that it stretched a mile wide and 1500 feet high. And it wasn’t just farmers who were affected. During the 1920s, New Mexico was already one of the poorest states and the crash only made a bad situation worse, especially in rural areas. The New Deal projects helped many return to work. However, the 1930s were a tough decade for most New Mexicans. The following 25 historic photos of New Mexico give you a hint at life during those years:

  1. This family is fleeing from the Oklahoma drought. After trying their luck in other states, they were headed to the cotton fields of Roswell, when their car stalled near Lordsburg.

Photogrammar/Dorothea Lange

  1. A man constructed this home from adobe bricks at Bosque Farms. During the Depression, the government bought Bosque Farms and turned it into a resettlement project for those escaping the Dust Bowl.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. A dust storm blowing near the town of Mills.

Wikimedia Commons/Dorothea Lange

  1. By 1935, there wasn’t much life left in Mills. The bank shut its doors, and the grain elevator you see in the background is derelict.

Photogrammar/Dorothea Lange

  1. The Farm Security Administration addressed rural poverty by resettling families on government owned farms.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. This woman is one of those who was relocated.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. Another rehabilitation client preparing the fields for irrigation.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. This photo was taken at Bosque Farms. These children were the daughters…

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. …And sons of resettled farmers.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. This image shows Native Americans working at the Indian Service School. The school was located in Taos.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. These two photos were part of a collection from the Farm Security Administration. That leads us to believe the Indian Service School was an FSA project. (If you know more about the school, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.)

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. The Works Progress Administration put people to work weaving rag rugs.

Wikimedia Commons/Russell Lee

  1. This is a post office on a land use project in the Las Cruces area.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. The post office served those arriving via car or wagon.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. This home was one of those already in place before work on the land use project started.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. Here are some gas prices in New Mexico from the 1930s. Gotta love the price breakdown!

Photogrammar/Dorothea Lange

  1. The man shown here used to own the land that became the White Sands Missile Range.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. This picture of Elephant Butte Dam is from 1936. Its construction was completed in 1916.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. A store at Rancho de Taos, in April 1936.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. Advertising during the 1930s doesn’t look so different. This photo montage was outside a photographer’s Albuquerque studio.

Photogrammar/Russell Lee

  1. Even in hard times, people found ways to have fun. These boys attended a summer camp in El Porvenir. Apparently, they acquired a pet bird!

Photogrammar/Russell Lee

  1. Breakfast at the same summer camp.

Photogrammar/Russell Lee

  1. In 1936, these kids went to a carnival in Roswell.

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

  1. People have always had a blast on the dunes at White Sands.

Wikimedia Commons/Grant George A. Grant, George S.

  1. This last photo was taken in 1939, during Bean Day celebrations in Wagon Mound. The event continues to this day and is held over Labor Day weekend.

Photogrammar/Russell Lee

Do you have any stories about New Mexico during the Great Depression? Feel free to share them on the Only In New Mexico Facebook Page.

Photogrammar/Dorothea Lange

Photogrammar/Arthur Rothstein

Wikimedia Commons/Dorothea Lange

Wikimedia Commons/Russell Lee

Photogrammar/Russell Lee

Photogrammar/Russell Lee

Wikimedia Commons/Grant George A. Grant, George S.

To see more photos from New Mexico’s past, check out these articles about life here in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.

Address: New Mexico, USA

The OIYS Visitor Center

Historic Photos Of New Mexico October 23, 2020 Leah Where can I find more of the best photos of New Mexico? If you enjoyed these old photos of New Mexico, we have more where that came from. Here are 15 of the oldest photos taken in the state, ranging from as early as 1873 and into the very first decade of the 1900s. They depict everything from natural scenery to the residents of New Mexico in the yesteryear. Go a little further in time to the state from 50 years ago in the 1970s. These photographs are blasts from the past, yet some of them are still recognizable in today’s society. There are some interesting space mission training photos in there, as well. How has New Mexico changed over the years? There is a lot that has changed that you can see when looking back on New Mexico’s history. Although New Mexico has some of the oldest settlements that can still be seen today - some still lived in, like the Taos Pueblo, and some in ruins - there is a lot of new developments. Albuquerque is ever-growing and expanding. You can still visit its historic areas, but so much of it is modern and full of today’s amenities. Luckily, a lot of the state’s historic spots are preserved, as well as its natural areas. New Mexico, as of 2020, has the newest national park in the United States. The famous White Sands became a national monument so they can be enjoyed by visitors for years to come. What are the oldest attractions in New Mexico? While the Great Depression in New Mexico gave the state - and the entire country - a hard blow, you can still visit some of the oldest places in the state that survived the hardships. They’ve lasted for decades, some even for centuries. One of the oldest places you can visit in New Mexico is the oldest church in the country, the San Miguel Mission. Located in Santa Fe, this place was originally built in 1610. It was rebuilt in 1710, but that means it’s still been around for three hundred years and predates the United States by over half a century. You can still visit it yourself.

The OIYS Visitor Center

Historic Photos Of New Mexico

October 23, 2020

Leah

Where can I find more of the best photos of New Mexico? If you enjoyed these old photos of New Mexico, we have more where that came from. Here are 15 of the oldest photos taken in the state, ranging from as early as 1873 and into the very first decade of the 1900s. They depict everything from natural scenery to the residents of New Mexico in the yesteryear. Go a little further in time to the state from 50 years ago in the 1970s. These photographs are blasts from the past, yet some of them are still recognizable in today’s society. There are some interesting space mission training photos in there, as well. How has New Mexico changed over the years? There is a lot that has changed that you can see when looking back on New Mexico’s history. Although New Mexico has some of the oldest settlements that can still be seen today - some still lived in, like the Taos Pueblo, and some in ruins - there is a lot of new developments. Albuquerque is ever-growing and expanding. You can still visit its historic areas, but so much of it is modern and full of today’s amenities. Luckily, a lot of the state’s historic spots are preserved, as well as its natural areas. New Mexico, as of 2020, has the newest national park in the United States. The famous White Sands became a national monument so they can be enjoyed by visitors for years to come. What are the oldest attractions in New Mexico? While the Great Depression in New Mexico gave the state - and the entire country - a hard blow, you can still visit some of the oldest places in the state that survived the hardships. They’ve lasted for decades, some even for centuries. One of the oldest places you can visit in New Mexico is the oldest church in the country, the San Miguel Mission. Located in Santa Fe, this place was originally built in 1610. It was rebuilt in 1710, but that means it’s still been around for three hundred years and predates the United States by over half a century. You can still visit it yourself.

The OIYS Visitor Center

The OIYS Visitor Center

If you enjoyed these old photos of New Mexico, we have more where that came from. Here are 15 of the oldest photos taken in the state, ranging from as early as 1873 and into the very first decade of the 1900s. They depict everything from natural scenery to the residents of New Mexico in the yesteryear. Go a little further in time to the state from 50 years ago in the 1970s. These photographs are blasts from the past, yet some of them are still recognizable in today’s society. There are some interesting space mission training photos in there, as well.

How has New Mexico changed over the years?

There is a lot that has changed that you can see when looking back on New Mexico’s history. Although New Mexico has some of the oldest settlements that can still be seen today - some still lived in, like the Taos Pueblo, and some in ruins - there is a lot of new developments. Albuquerque is ever-growing and expanding. You can still visit its historic areas, but so much of it is modern and full of today’s amenities. Luckily, a lot of the state’s historic spots are preserved, as well as its natural areas. New Mexico, as of 2020, has the newest national park in the United States. The famous White Sands became a national monument so they can be enjoyed by visitors for years to come.

What are the oldest attractions in New Mexico?

While the Great Depression in New Mexico gave the state - and the entire country - a hard blow, you can still visit some of the oldest places in the state that survived the hardships. They’ve lasted for decades, some even for centuries. One of the oldest places you can visit in New Mexico is the oldest church in the country, the San Miguel Mission. Located in Santa Fe, this place was originally built in 1610. It was rebuilt in 1710, but that means it’s still been around for three hundred years and predates the United States by over half a century. You can still visit it yourself.