The Great Depression: Dust, Grit & the New Deal
Black blizzards, hard-luck towns, and the crews who built their way out — how America weathered the 1930s, from Dust Bowl farms to CCC parks and New Deal landmarks.
13 narrated stories — read them here, or hear them all in the app.
Decatur County
When the Prairie Started to Move
How dust overtook Decatur County farms and changed Plains farming.
Cimarron County
When Noon Went Dark, the Songs Carried On
Black Sunday in Cimarron County and the music that carried its memory.
Gray County
Where Woody Guthrie Found His Voice
In Pampa, boomtown energy and Dust Bowl hardship shaped Guthrie’s witness.
Baca County
When the Plains Took the Plow Back
How failed farms in Baca County became protected grassland.
Devil's Lake State Park
Hands on the Bluffs at Devil’s Lake
How New Deal workers helped shape a beloved Wisconsin park.
Petit Jean State Park
The Hands That Gave Petit Jean Its Shape
How CCC crews built the enduring look of Arkansas’s first state park.
Fall Creek Falls State Park
How the CCC Built Fall Creek Falls
A rugged plateau became a Tennessee park through New Deal labor.
South Mountain Park and Preserve
Built Into the Mountain
How New Deal crews gave South Mountain Park its enduring shape.
Timberline Lodge
A Mountain Lodge Built as Public Pride
How Timberline Lodge turned Depression labor into Northwest identity.
Okemah Armory
Stone, Drill, and the New Deal in Okemah
How a small Oklahoma town got a fortresslike New Deal landmark.
Hoover Dam
Before the Pour, Men on Ropes
How high scalers made Hoover Dam possible.
Palace of Depression
George Daynor’s Scrap-Built Dream
How one man turned castoffs into a landmark of grit and imagination.
Kansas City Power and Light Building
The Tower That Lit a Worried City
How a glowing Art Deco tower became Kansas City's Depression-era signal of confidence.
Hear every The Great Depression: Dust, Grit & the New Deal story, hands-free.
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