Rural America as rural Americans saw it, 1940-42

Montana shepherd, horse and dog

We have all seen old issues of Life magazine from the early 1940s, almost always showing America in black, white and shades of gray. There was color photography back then, but it was relatively expensive to print, so it was rarely seen. But many color pictures of rural America were taken by photographers of the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information, many showing "the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations," The Denver Post says in displaying the photographs and captions, which belong to the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit, "Bound for Glory: America in Color." For the whole set presented by the Post, click here.

Homesteaders, New Mexico

Corn planting, East Tennessee

Depot and starch factory, Maine

Chopping cotton on rented land, Georgia