A 1938 photograph shows desolate Coal Region landscape during the Great Depression

In a 1938 photograph taken by Sheldon Dick, the viewer sees Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania in the grip of the Great Depression. Dick took dozens of photographs in the Coal Region during his visit, all part of an effort to capture how the economic catastrophe impacted Pennsylvania communities.

He captured this one on the outskirts of the Northumberland County mining community. It shows the town and the destroyed environment surrounding the community, ravaged by mining – both on the surface and beneath.

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See the photograph and download a high-resolution copy here – Library of Congress

We’ll be sharing more of the photographs that Dick took in Mount Carmel in the weeks to come.

We’ve previously written about his photographs in and around Shenandoah and Schuylkill County HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.


Featured Image: Mount Carmel in 1938 – Library of Congress


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