As our state’s history is so steeped in the mining industry, the Great Depression was a trying time for Arizonans everywhere. We’ve all heard stories from our grandparents about what life was like during the country’s most tumultuous decade, but nothing compares to seeing the adversity firsthand. These photographs were taken in Arizona during the 1930s and give a fascinating look into the world as it was decades ago.

  1. Purchasing a sheep on the range. (1933)

Wikimedia/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. A Navajo woman dying wool to make rugs. (1933)

Wikimedia/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. Three Arizona lawmen pausing to pose for a photo.

Wikimedia Commons Exact date, location, and agency unknown.

  1. A Native American woman spinning wool in preparation for weaving blankets at a temporary Indian camp. (1933)

Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. A miner dipping his pan into the Colorado River near Lee’s Ferry. (c. 1930)

Wikimedia Commons/George Wharton James

  1. Workers undertaking an erosion control project near the Rio Puerco Bridge in Navajo County. (c. 1930)

Library of Congress Archives / Call Number: HAER ARIZ,1-HOLB.V,1–22

  1. The University of Arizona Concert and Marching Band. (c. 1934)

Wikimedia Commons/DeGrazia Foundation

  1. A girl riding a donkey in Globe, Arizona. (c. 1933)

Wikimedia Commons

  1. The final bucket of concrete being poured into the Bartlett Dam on the Verde River. (c. 1939)

Wikimedia Commons/Bureau of Reclamation

  1. Two men in a rowboat floating in the Colorado River between the towering rock walls in Glen Canyon. (c. 1930)

Wikimedia Commons/George Wharton James

  1. Navajo women weaving a large rug. (1933)

Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. A car stuck in a wide, washed out creek on the reservation. (1933)

Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. Two women gazing westward from the rim of the Grand Canyon. (1930)

Wikimedia Commons/ George A. Grant, National Park Service

  1. A Navajo woman and child photographed in Canyon de Chelly. (c. 1933)

Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. Navajo women in the process of spinning wool into the yarn used to weave rugs. (c. 1933)

Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  1. A vintage Arizona license plate. (1934)

Wikimedia Commons/Absecon 49

  1. A rear view of the Mission San Jose de Tumacacori, located near Nogales in southern Arizona. (1937)

Wikimedia Commons/John P. O’Neill, Historic American Buildings Survey of North America

Do you have any Great Depression stories passed down from family members? We’d love to hear them in the comments below.

Wikimedia/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Wikimedia Commons

Exact date, location, and agency unknown.

Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Wikimedia Commons/George Wharton James

Library of Congress Archives / Call Number: HAER ARIZ,1-HOLB.V,1–22

Wikimedia Commons/DeGrazia Foundation

Wikimedia Commons/Bureau of Reclamation

Wikimedia Commons/ George A. Grant, National Park Service

Wikimedia Commons/Absecon 49

Wikimedia Commons/John P. O’Neill, Historic American Buildings Survey of North America

For more haunting photos of this time period, check out 25 Rare Photos Taken In Arizona During The Great Depression.

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