Name/Title
Shanty Town in St. Joseph, Photo, c. 1937Entry/Object ID
P2020.1.392Description
Shanty Town in St. Joseph, Photo, c. 1937. b/w. Photo of shabbily built temporary homes with covered porch on side, wooden barrels and other debris strewn in foreground. Water hydrant in foreground.
St. Joseph News-Press reports on May 23, 1937 that 150 people, 2/3 of them children, are living in a shanty town near Quaker Oats at 11th & Atchison. They report the shacks are made of battered lumber, discarded tin signs, linoleum, and old galvanized iron. Old as well as young people live there, Some get old age assistance, some work on WPA relief jobs. The City is at a quandary knowing whether to try to shut the area down, not knowing where people could go.
(There is a possibility that this is a Habecker photo, which would make it a 1920s scene. But no number was given to the photo.)
Original digital scan located on History CD 05.Made/Created
Date made
1937Place
City
St. JosephState/Province
MissouriLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Print, PhotographicNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsSearch Terms
Great Depression in St. Joseph, Shanty Town, 1937