Route 66 and the Dust Bowl Migration

Dennis Rees

Teacher-Consultant

Arizona Geographic Alliance

In the 1930’s, several factors came together to create a region known as the Dust Bowl.

The Great Depression began in 1929. Wheat prices fell and farmers started plowing more land to pay back loans.

Decades of poor farming techniques had removed the native ground cover. Lack of ground cover and failure to practice crop rotation resulted in land that was exposed to the forces of erosion.

In 1930, a nine year drought began.

Crops withered and the land became barren.

Then came the dust storms.

It is estimated that 200 dust storms ravaged the region from 1932 to 1937.

Unable to make a living, small farmers lost their land.

Encouraged by stories, handbills, and posters promising work out West, the displaced farmers and their families began their migration.

Around 200,000 went to California.

Established in 1926, Route 66 was the highway most of them used to make this journey.

The migrants loaded their families and the essentials needed for the journey into cars and

trucks,

and began the trip west.

Some traveled in small groups,

others solo.

At night, they camped by the side of the road.

Towns and service stations along the highway provided gasoline, water, food, and car parts.

They crossed Oklahoma,

Texas,

New Mexico,

and Arizona

until they reached the Colorado River and crossed into California.

The migrants now faced the dreaded Mohave Desert.

After crossing the desert and a mountain range, they entered the Promised Land, the agricultural valleys of

central California.

Here they received mixed messages.

Most of the work was seasonal, picking crops. The migrants traveled from harvest to harvest.

The lucky ones got to live in camps run by the Department of Agriculture.

These camps were well organized, clean, and safe.

Some lived in camps created by wealthy landowners where the company store quickly

ate up any money they made.

Most lived in makeshift camps called Hoovervilles.

These camps lacked all the basic amenities.

The stress of the journey and the uncertainty of life in California showed on the faces of the

migrants.

Two works of historical fiction describe this time and journey.

Sources for this power point:

Library of Congress

The Grapes of Wrath

2010 Arizona Geographic Alliance Route 66 Advanced Summer Institute