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Teaching Collection: California’s Industrial Transformation—Snapshots 1860–1939

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This collection of primary sources offers a look at what life was like for diverse groups of people during a transformative period of California history.

Introduction 

Completion of the transcontinental railroad in the late 19th century facilitated the growth of budding industries that shaped California history, bringing in new waves of immigrants and migrants from diverse cultures along with new businesses and fresh ideas. California seemed like a golden land of opportunity, inspiring dreams of sunny days perfumed by orange blossoms—an ideal that would persist. While opportunities for wealth did exist, so too did many challenges for both newcomers and people already living on the land.  

These primary sources offer a snapshot of life in California during this transformative period, after California became the 31st state and before the onset of World War II in 1939.

Guiding Questions

  • How did new industries that emerged after completion of the transcontinental railroad change the lives of varied communities in California?  
  • How did industrial growth in California at this time create opportunities and challenges for diverse groups? How might those experiences have differed depending on the group?  
  • How did national current events from this time affect different communities in California?

How To Use This Resource

This resource contains a collection of high-quality images of primary sources from 1876 to 1938, organized chronologically. The collection prompts students to think about California’s rapid industrialization from different perspectives, allowing them to imagine what life was like for diverse groups of people and compare and contrast it with life in California today. 
 
At the bottom of each primary source, you’ll find vocabulary words, project ideas, and prompts for students that can be adapted for grade levels from third grade through high school. Relevant California state standards in social science, art, and science, with additional collection-wide project ideas, are at the end.

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Table of contents heading: Introduction

Rounding Cape Horn. / C.P.R.R.

Approximately 1876. Colfax, California 

Watkins, Carleton E., 1829–1916, Rounding Cape Horn. / C.P.R.R., approximately 1876. Albumen, mammoth plate photograph. Central Pacific R.R. and views adjacent. In Library as of 1930. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

This photograph shows a train rounding Cape Horn in Placer County, California. Known for its dramatic scenery and steep cliffs, Cape Horn was named after the famous Cape Horn on South America’s southern tip. The photograph is one in a series of 48 that photographer Carleton E. Watkins created beginning in 1876 to document the California-Nevada route of the Central Pacific Railroad, which connected with the Union Pacific line to form the Transcontinental Railway. He used oversized glass-plate negatives known as mammoth plates, which produced highly detailed, large-format prints. 

Construction of the transcontinental railroad was driven in part by California’s rapid growth following the discovery of gold in 1848. Railroad companies began building eastward from California and westward from the eastern United States with the goal of meeting in the middle. The two railroad lines connected on May 10,1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah. Once completed, the Transcontinental Railroad dramatically reduced travel time between the East Coast and California—from months by wagon or ship to approximately one week by rail—encouraging migration, trade, and economic growth throughout the American West. Building the railroad was dangerous and physically demanding, and many workers were injured or killed. Chinese laborers, who made up a large portion of the Central Pacific workforce, worked under hazardous conditions, using picks, shovels, drills, and explosives to cut pathways into the Sierra Nevada rock. Historical accounts describe some laborers being lowered by ropes along the cliff face while excavating footholds. Railroad engineers described how workers had to carve a narrow ledge into nearly perpendicular granite slopes. 

After the first transcontinental railroad was completed, some of the Chinese laborers who built it returned to China with their earnings, while thousands remained in the United States, finding work in a variety of industries, such as agriculture and mining, and launching small businesses. 

Rounding Cape Horn. / C.P.R.R. is among an album of photographs believed to have been gifted by Carelton E. Watkins to the estate of Collis P. Huntington, one of the railroad magnates who financed and promoted the Central Pacific Railroad.

  • Transcontinental Railway: The first continuous railroad line that went across the United States from east to west. 

Transcontinental and California Travel

  • Look closely at the photograph of the locomotive at the top.  
    • How would you describe the landscape?   
    • What do you think it was like to travel through these mountains before the railroad was built?  
    • What are some potential challenges to building a railroad on this terrain?  
  • Examine a topographic map of the United States. How might California’s topography have affected the movement of people to and from this region?  
  • Research the construction of the California High-Speed Rail, a modern example of a large-scale transportation project. Explore the planned lines, cost to build, technology used, and number or types of jobs created. How might its scale and impact on the region differ from the transcontinental railroad? 
  • Research and present your position. Which mode of transportation is best for transcontinental travel today: car, train, or plane? Split into three groups and research your mode of transportation’s environmental impact, cost to travel, and benefits. Create a travel advertisement for your mode of transportation, incorporating its benefits. Alternatively, hold a class town hall or debate. Prepare for the debate by drafting an opening statement, a well-thought-out argument incorporating evidence from your research, and a closing statement.  

“Cape Horn and the Transcontinental Railroad,” n.d., web page. National Geographic. https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/cape-horn-and-the-transcontinental-railroad/19bdc041-8f1b-4e5f-82d8-41ec9e2ecc47 

“Exploring the Path of Chinese Railroad Workers: A Self-Guided Heritage Tour of Chinese Railroad Worker Sites from Auburn to Donner Pass,” 2018. Explore APA Heritage. https://1882foundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Railroad-Tour-Brochure_Digital-Publishing_Single-Page.pdf 

“The Contributions of the Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Workers,” n.d., web page. The Asian American Education Project. https://asianamericanedu.org/1.2-Transcontinental-Railroad-lesson-plan.html 

Watkins, Carleton E., 1829–1916, Rounding Cape Horn. / C.P.R.R., approximately 1876. Albumen, mammoth plate photograph. Central Pacific R.R. and views adjacent. In Library as of 1930. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll2/id/21189 

“The Transcontinental Railroad,” n.d., web page. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/collections/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/articles-and-essays/history-of-railroads-and-maps/the-transcontinental-railroad 

Chinese emigration to America: sketch on board the steam-ship Alaska, bound for San Francisco

April 29, 1876. San Francisco, California 

Table of contents heading: Chinese Emigration to America Sketch

Illustrated London News, Chinese emigration to America: sketch on board the steam-ship Alaska, bound for San Francisco, 1876. Print. John Haskell Kemble Collection, Gift of John Haskell Kemble, 1960s–1990s. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

This image was printed in the Illustrated London News on April 29, 1876, and was reprinted a month later in Harper’s Weekly. The artist sketched a scene onboard the steamship Alaska, bound for San Francisco, featuring many Chinese immigrants serving or eating food as they journeyed in search of opportunity in the United States. The increasing population of Chinese immigrants was an essential part of building a new California and nation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many Chinese immigrants worked on the construction of the transcontinental railroad, which was completed in 1869. This was frequently dangerous work. Chinese immigrants also launched businesses, such as restaurants, shops, and laundries, and were employed in agricultural work, including in citrus orchards.  

San Francisco was the port of entry for Chinese immigrants. Eventually, it became home to the largest Chinatown in the country. However, there was also anti-Chinese sentiment in the city. In July 1877, a speech by the founder of the Workingmen’s Party of California, a group that was vehemently opposed to Chinese immigration, incited an angry mob that rioted for three days and attacked Chinese businesses and the docks of steamship companies. 

This backlash against foreign-born workers reflected a larger national movement. A few years later, in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act would bar new Chinese immigrants from entering the United States for 10 years. However, innovative thinkers like the Chinese American lawyer and advocate Y. C. Hong supported Chinese immigrants seeking to enter the United States despite these restrictions.

  • Chinese Exclusion Act: The United States’ first race-based immigration law. Signed into law in 1882, it barred most Chinese immigrants from entering the United States.

Explore Immigration and Migration

  • Look closely at the Chinese emigration to America image.  
    • List of all the activities you see in the image. What details help you understand what is happening? 
    • What do you think the voyage might have been like? What visual clues support your ideas? 
    • Who created this image? Does it show possible bias or perspective?  
    • What information or viewpoints might be missing? 
  • Research the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and advocate Y. C. Hong, a lawyer who supported Chinese immigrants seeking to enter the U.S. 
    • What legal and social barriers did Chinese immigrants face?  
    • How did Chinese immigrants support one another through community networks?  
    • What strategies helped people navigate immigration systems at that time?  
  • Create a collage, digital graphic, poster, or poem about an object to represent migration, such as a suitcase or map. Explain how that symbol represents the experience of migration. 

Unidentified artist. Chinese emigration to America: sketch on board the steam-ship Alaska, bound for San Francisco, 1876, engraving on paper, 15 3/4 x 21 1/4 in. John Haskell Kemble Collection. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p9539coll1-22007.

California Migration Museum. “Chinese Exclusion,” 2026, website. https://www.calmigration.org/learn-chapter/chinese-exclusion.

Linda Chiavaroli, “Chinese American Advocate, Y.C. Hong,” Verso, December 15, 2015. https://www.huntington.org/watch-read-listen/verso/chinese-american-advocate-yc-hong.

Greg Hise. “Chinatown History Project.” 2021, website. Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West. https://dornsife.usc.edu/icw/chinatown-history-project.

“Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History: Struggling for Work,” n.d., web page. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/chinese/struggling-for-work.

The unique map of California

Approximately 1888 

Table of contents heading: The Unique Map of California

Johnstone, E. McD., d. 1895, artist, and Dickman-Jones Co., printer, The unique map of California, ca .1888. Lithograph, color printed. Jay T. Last Collection. Gift of Jay T. Last, 2005. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

The Unique Map of California was made around 1888 and published by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the California State Board of Trade. It was printed in San Francisco by the Dickman-Jones Company to promote California’s acreage, natural resources, and growing industries. The circles and squares with scenes inside are called “vignettes.” Twenty vignettes on this map show distinctive natural and man-made wonders, including Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Mt. Whitney, Hotel del Coronado, Golden Gate Bridge, and redwood trees. This map also includes railroad routes and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, with the names and elevations of its peaks. Three insets provide references to California’s soil, temperature, and surface area compared to those of 10 Eastern states. You can also see the State of California seal in the lower-right corner. 

Two types of maps were blended to create this one: a physical map and a resource map. It depicts physical features of the land, such as rivers, lakes, and mountains, as well as California’s natural resources, such as oranges, minerals, and lumber. Given the variety of resources featured, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, land developers, and farmers—likely the intended audiences—would have benefited from a map like this.  

  • Industry: A group of businesses that manufacture or provide a specific kind of product.

Design Your Own Unique Map of California 

  • Look closely at The Unique Map of California.  
    • How is this the same or different from other maps of California? 
    • Do you recognize any of the scenic destinations featured in the vignettes? Share what you know. 
  • Think about why these destinations were featured in the vignettes and compare them to California today.  
    • Why do you think these places were included on the map?  
    • Do you think any of the places featured in the vignettes are important to California today? Why or why not?  
    • What are some of the key industries, geography, or natural resources today? If you were updating this map, what 20 destinations would you include? Use research to help justify why these are important.  
  • Redesign a Unique Map of California for today. Individually or in groups, create vignettes for the map.  
    • For younger students, project or print a map of California to the class and have students add their vignette to the correct location within the state.  
    • Older students can design the whole map themselves, adding multiple vignettes. 
    • The bottom of the map features California’s seal. Make your own seal for California. Think about how your iconography showcases California.  

E. McD. Johnstone, “The Unique Map of California,” c. 1888, lithograph, 29 5/8 x 22 3/8 in. Jay T. Last Collection, gift of Jay T. Last. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p16003coll4-1479.

“Southern Pacific Railroad,” 1900–1934, manuscripts and ephemera. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-mssheh-aspace-ca201ff96ed749db6e8e85cfef30b895.

California Citrus Box Label: California Brand

1890-1900

Table of contents heading: California Citrus Box Label

Mutual Label & Lith. Co., printer, California Brand, 1890-1900. Lithograph, color printed. Jay T. Last Collection. Gift of Jay T. Last. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

This image of a California citrus box label dates from about 1890 to 1900. Citrus fruits, including oranges, were a regional commodity. Grown in California and other areas, they were sold across the country. This label includes a map of California alongside colorful illustrations of oranges, lemons, and citrus blossoms. These kinds of images helped sell more than just oranges. Marketing campaigns from the orange industry that showed off oranges, plus the state’s land, sea, and sun, were a catalyst for further migration into the state, encouraging people to move to California, purchase tracts of land, and earn money through agricultural means such as growing citrus trees. By the 1920s, oranges had become a symbol frequently associated with California, and citrus was the state’s second-largest source of revenue, behind oil. 

  • Advertisement: A public, paid notice designed to sell something or convey information relevant to the public interest. 
  • Commodity: A product or good that can be bought, sold, or traded. For example, agricultural products, such as citrus fruits. 
  • Migrate: To move from one country or place to another. 

Create an Advertisement for California

  • Look closely at the California citrus box label. 
    • What did the designers include in the label? Make a list of 10 things. 
    • What mood does the label convey?  
    • Citrus labels helped advertise California as an inviting place to live. How does the iconography featured in the citrus label help promote not just oranges, but California? 
    • If you could write your own slogan for this product, what would it be? 
  • Compare it with advertisements that highlight California today. 
    • Use YouTube to find Visit California advertisements. Compare them with the citrus crate advertisements. 
    • For what reasons might someone advertise a place?  
  • Create your own advertisement for California. 
    • Create a collage featuring icons synonymous with California (such as movies, California poppy, or oranges) 
    • Create a brochure to encourage people to visit California. Include some key places to visit, historical landmarks, popular produce, and a list of reasons why someone should visit.  
    • Design an advertisement for California today. What story about California are you trying to tell? Use art materials or create a digital design. 

Unidentified artist. “California Brand,” 1890–1900, lithograph, 9 1/2 x 13 3/8 in. The Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, gift of Jay T. Last. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p16003coll4-97.

“Ch 2: King Citrus and the Selling of the California Dream,” LA Foodways, 2019, documentary, directed by Raphael Sbarge. PBS SoCal. https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/la-foodways/clip/king-citrus-and-the-selling-of-the-california-dream.

U. S. Indian Day School, Soboba

Approximately 1915, Soboba Indian Reservation, Riverside County 

Table of contents heading: U. S. Indian Day School Photograph

Prof. May, U. S. Indian Day School, Soboba, undated. Photograph: black and white print. William H. Weinland Collection. Gift of Clarence E. Weinland, 1944 and 1970. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

This is a photo of students and their teacher—seated at the far right—at the California Indian Day School near San Jacinto, California, at the Soboba Indian Reservation in Riverside County. Students likely came from local tribal communities, including the Serrano, Luiseño, Cahuilla, Gabrielino, Juaneño, and Diegueño.  

During the 19th and 20th centuries, many Native American children were forced into residential boarding schools funded by the federal government or operated by Christian churches. The purpose of these schools was to assimilate Native children into mainstream American society and suppress their languages, cultures, and traditions. School authorities enforced assimilation practices that included replacing Native names with English ones, cutting students’ hair, and discouraging or punishing the use of Native languages, religions, and cultural practices. Students were taught to read, write, and speak English and were instructed in white Western social and cultural values. According to recent federal investigations, more than 500 Indian boarding schools operated across the United States.  

Alongside these residential institutions, the government also established an extensive network of Indian day schools. Unlike boarding schools, students in day schools returned home to their families each evening. Day schools combined academic instruction with industrial and vocational training. They stressed order, discipline, and routine, often including regimented activities such as drills and manual labor.

  • Assimilate: To absorb a group or population’s culture. 

Research Indian Day Schools 

  • Look closely at the photograph. What do you see?  
    • What do you notice about the individuals in the photograph? 
    • Can you see any attire, expressions, or other features that reveal their identities? If so, what do you see? If not, why do you think that is? 
  • Research to learn what challenges children who attended Indian boarding schools faced. 
    • Why were these schools created?  
    • What were the problems with these schools?  
    • What impact did these schools have on Indigenous communities?  
  • Explore The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition’s interactive digital map. What do you notice about the locations and density of schools? Can you identify any patterns? Select one school nearby and research the school, its founding, policies, and what daily life was like for students. 

Prof. May, U.S. Indian Day School, Soboba, n.d., photograph, 5 5/16 x 8 7/16 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p15150coll2-12450.

“Interactive Digital Map of Indian Boarding Schools,” website, n.d. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. https://boardingschoolhealing.org/interactive-digital-map.

Bryan Newland, “Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative: Investigative Report,” 2022. Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. https://resources.collegefund.org/wp-content/uploads/bsi_investigative_report_may_2022_508.pdf.

Kelly Leah Stewart. “(Re)writing and (Re)righting California Indian Histories: Legacies of Saint Boniface Indian Industrial School, 1890 to 1935,” 2018, thesis, UCLA. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5qx1w2mz.

William H. Weinland, “William H. Weinland photograph collection, 1885?-1929,” ca. 1885–1929, photographs, prints, and ephemera. Gift of Clarence E. Weinland. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://catalog.huntington.org/record=b1064134.

Universal City. Entrance to the “City of Wonders.”

Approximately 1915, Universal City, California  

Table of contents heading: Universal City Photograph

Universal City. Entrance to the “City of Wonders,” ca.1915. Photograph, print. Ernest Marquez Collection. Purchased in part by the Library Collectors’ Council from Ernest Marquez, January 2014. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

It’s hard to think about California without thinking about the film industry. In 1915, filmmaker Carl Laemmle (whose nephews later founded the still-operating Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles) opened a new movie studio, called Universal City, south of Lankershim Boulevard in Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley. This photograph captures the entrance to Universal City, with administrative buildings visible in the background. A woman and an early automobile stand next to a sign reading “Universal City: Capital of the Film World,” highlighting the studio’s ambition and growing influence. On the right side of the image, a small group of people gather near the gated entrance. Today, this same area is home to Universal Studios, a theme park and one of the largest film production facilities in the world. 

Compare Then to Now

  • Look closely at the image of Universal City. Entrance to the “City of Wonders.”  
    • What stands out to you? 
    • This image of Universal City was on a postcard. Why might someone send this card to someone? 
  • Compare the image of Universal City to today. Use Google Maps to find Universal Studios Gate 1 on Lankershim Boulevard, the main entrance. Compare it with the entrance featured in the photograph. 
    • What looks similar? 
    • What has changed? What are some of the possible reasons for these changes? (such as technology, fashion) 
    • What do you think this area will look like in 100 years, and why? 
  • Design a postcard featuring a place in California you think is important to share with others. Use art materials or create and print a digital design. Think about your audience. Who would you want to send this postcard to? What do you want them to understand or feel about this place? Write a short message on the back describing why this location matters to you. You can mail your postcard to someone to share your perspective! 

Unidentified artist. Universal City. Entrance to the “City of Wonders,” ca. 1915, postcard, 3 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. Ernest Marquez Collection. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p15150coll2-19441.

“About Laemmle,” n.d., web page. https://www.laemmle.com/pages/about.

Big Creek Huntington Lake Dams

1917. Big Creek, Fresno County, California

Table of contents heading: Big Creek Huntington Lake Dams Photograph

Bishop, G. Haven, photographer, Big Creek Huntington Lake Dams, 1917. Glass Plate.  
Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives. Gift of Edison International, December 2005. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

As California’s population grew, its cities needed more electricity to meet the rising demands of residents and businesses. Hydroelectric power—electricity generated by harnessing the energy of moving water, such as rivers or water falling from dams—offered an appealing source of inexpensive energy, but constructing dams, reservoirs, and power plants was challenging and expensive. 

In 1910, construction began on the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Its primary purpose was to supply electricity to Los Angeles. Rather than relying on a single massive dam and power plant, engineers developed an interconnected system of multiple reservoirs and generating facilities. 

One of these reservoirs, Huntington Lake, was named after Henry E. Huntington, president of the Pacific Light and Power Company—and The Huntington’s founder—who financed the project’s early development. 

The Big Creek system became one of the largest and most extensive power networks, often called “The Hardest Working Water in the World.” Today, it generates about 12% of California’s hydroelectric power. 

  • Hydroelectric: Relating to a method of generating electricity using the movement of flowing water. 
  • Reservoir: An artificial lake where water is kept. 

G. Haven Bishop, Big Creek Huntington Lake Dams, 1917, photograph on glass plate, 8 x 10 in. Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p16003coll2-16315.

“Huntington Lake Photograph Album, approximately 1915–1920,” ca. 1915–1920, photographs. Online Archive of California, UC Libraries. https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8db8858.

“Southern California Edison Big Creek Hydroelectric Project,” n.d., web page. Southern California Edison Northern Hydro Division. https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/southern-california-edison-big-creek-hydroelectric-project/6833b411-c6db-4ad1-aae9-8a71b7a07b2c.

“Hoover Town”, Los Angeles, March 18, 1932

1932. Hoover Town, Los Angeles, California

Table of contents heading: "Hoover Town" Photograph

The habitations of the unemployed in Los Angeles County, 1931–32. Gelatin silver print. Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Collection, 1930–32. Gift of the Los Angeles County Health Administration/Management and Health Systems Agency Libraries, June 1996. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

During the Great Depression, widespread unemployment and poverty forced many Americans to seek shelter wherever they could find it. One such settlement was “Hoover Town” or “Hooverville,” a five-acre community of makeshift homes in the Graham neighborhood of Los Angeles, located near Alameda Street and Firestone Boulevard.  

The Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted about a decade, is widely regarded as the most severe economic downturn in American history. Californians had experienced homelessness before this period, but soaring unemployment and widespread business failures caused housing loss on an unprecedented scale. As a result, thousands of people across the country were forced to live in improvised communities known as Hoovervilles, mockingly named after the U.S. president at the time, Herbert Hoover.  

The settlement shown in the image comes from a photographic collection created by the Los Angeles County Health Department titled The Habitations of the Unemployed in Los Angeles County, 1931–1932. Homes in Hooverville were built from whatever materials people could find, including scrap wood, metal sheets, cardboard, and canvas tents.  

In striking contrast, Los Angeles was hosting the 1932 Summer Olympics when this photograph was taken. The event generated a profit of more than $1 million, equivalent to nearly $24 million today, highlighting the sharp economic inequalities present in the city. 

  • Great Depression: A period lasting from the stock market crash in October 1929 until the start of World War II. It is the most severe economic downturn in United States history. 
  • Hooverville: Makeshift towns where people impoverished by the Great Depression lived. Homes were built from whatever materials people could find, including scrap wood, metal sheets, cardboard, and canvas tents. 

1930s News Report

  • Look closely at the “Hoover Town” image.
    • What do you notice about the setting and the people in the photograph? 
    • What is happening in the photograph? Why? 
  • Research the Great Depression and Hoovervilles. 
    • What caused this economic crisis? 
    • What was life like for different groups of people? 
    • What impact did the Great Depression have on society? 
  • Write a news story or social media news post set in the time the “Hoover Town” photograph was taken. Use your research about the Great Depression and its effects.

“The Habitations of the Unemployed in Los Angeles County, 1931–1932,” 1931–1932, photographs. Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Collection, gift of the Los Angeles County Health Administration/Management and Health Systems Agency Libraries. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p15150coll2-7811.

Patrick J. Kiger, “5 Causes of the Great Depression,” 2022, history.com. A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/articles/great-depression-causes.

Mark Stanbrough, “Olympic Games of 1932 (Summer),” 2023, web page. EBSCO Information Services Inc. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/olympic-games-1932-summer.

Orange packers, San Fernando Heights Citrus Packing House, Los Angeles County. 1938

San Fernando, Los Angeles County, California

Table of contents heading: Orange Packers Photograph

Orange packers, San Fernando Heights Citrus Packing House, Los Angeles County. 1938. Negative. “Dick” Whittington Studio Collection of Negatives and Photographs, 1924–48. Photographs purchased from, and donated by, Edward Whittington, 1976. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

In this 1938 photograph, before the start of World War II, young women pack orange crates at the San Fernando Heights Citrus Pack House in Los Angeles County. Before the 1890s, these packinghouses were commonly staffed by Chinese and Japanese men. Anti-Asian sentiment, furthered by the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, caused the workforce to shift to women. This picture was taken toward the end of the citrus industry’s peak era in Southern California. After World War II, Southern California became a hub of defense manufacturing and many commercial orange groves were converted to residential housing to accommodate the influx of people working in that industry.  

Wearing aprons and gloves, the young women in the photograph stand in front of crates picking oranges from a conveyor belt. Often, workers would wrap each orange in paper before placing it in crates marked with colorful labels like those in The Huntington’s citrus label collection. Packers were paid based on how many fruits they handled in a day, meaning the faster they packed, the more they were paid.    

Packinghouse: A place where food is processed and/or packed. 

Meet an Orange Packer

  • Look closely at the Orange packers photograph.  
    • What industry is shown in this image? 
    • Compare the box label in the Orange packers photo to the California citrus box label. How are they the same or different? 
    • Who is working in this photo, and why? 
    • If you could ask someone in the picture a question, what would it be? 
    • Does this depict a normal workday, or is it staged? What makes you think that? 
    • What changes in the world economy or in California might make photos like this less common today? For older students, consider factors like migration, technology, and globalization. 
  • Research how technology changed the citrus industry. Are packing jobs still needed today? Why or why not? 
  • Create a diary entry from a woman in the Orange packers photo, a newspaper article that this image might have appeared in, or a fictional interview with someone in the image. Include historical details that you learned from your research. 

Dick Whittington Studio, “Orange packers, San Fernando Heights Citrus Packing House, Los Angeles County. 1938,” 1938, photographic negative, 4 x 5 in. “Dick” Whittington Studio Collection of Negatives and Photographs, 1924–1948. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-p15150coll2-3880.

“Citrus Label Collection,” 1880–1960, photographs, prints, and ephemera. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. https://www.huntington.org/collections/lib-ephcl

Sandi Hemmerlein, “Where to Find the Bygone Citrus Groves of Southern California,” 2017, web page. PBS SoCal. https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/socal-wanderer/where-to-find-the-bygone-citrus-groves-of-southern-california.

Audrey Maier, “A Woman’s World: A History of Female Labor in Citrus Packinghouses,” n.d., Sweet and Sour Citrus, website. https://sweetandsourcitrus.org/a-womans-world-a-history-of-female-labor-in-citrus-packinghouses.

Collection-Wide Project Ideas and Prompts

  • Select a primary source from the Teaching Collection to make observations and ask questions. 
    • Make a list of everything you see in the image. When you think your list is done, try to find five new things to add. Compare your list with a partner. 
    • Create a list of questions you have about the image.  
  • Research the image. Start by using the link. Then use a library or conduct an internet search. Can you find answers to any of your questions? 
  • Create a story about the image using your list of observations, questions, and research. What happened before, during, and after the moment captured in the image? Write, draw panels like a comic book, or record yourself telling the story.
  • Create a list of all the technologies shown in the images of primary sources (such as cars and conveyor belts). Now add technology not depicted but that was used to create the primary source or was important to the industry being depicted (such as film or hydropower).  
  • Compare past and present technologies.  
    • Did your list include technologies still used today? Is the technology the same or has it changed? 
    • What are the top technologies in California today? How do they impact California’s economy and society? Use research to help contextualize your response. 
  • Research one of the technologies featured on your list. 
    • Was this technology part of the industrialization of the late 19th century or did it come earlier?  
    • Why was the technology created? Where was it designed? Who invented it?  
    • How did this technology transform California’s economy and society? Is it still used today?  
    • Write about your findings or make a model to demonstrate how the technology works.  
  • Find photos and maps of your community from early California history. 
  • Research your community.  
    • List the historic monuments or locations in your community, such as parks, streets, or areas named after a particular individual. 
    • What are some important social, economic, and natural factors that impacted the area’s development?  
    • Create a timeline that highlights the key phases of your community’s history. 
    • Create a model of your community, draw a map of the area, and/or write about your findings. 
  • Imagine what you think your neighborhood will look like in 100 years. Create a model, draw a picture, or write about your ideas.  
Table of contents heading: Collection-Wide Project Ideas and Prompts

Standards 

  • 1.2 Students compare and contrast the absolute and relative locations of places and people and describe the physical and/or human characteristics of places. 
  • 1.4 Students compare and contrast everyday life in different times and places around the world and recognize that some aspects of people, places, and things change over time while others stay the same. 
  • 2.1 Students differentiate between things that happened long ago and things that happened yesterday.  
  • 2.2 Students demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and relative locations of people, places, and environments. 
  • 3.1 Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context. 
  • 3.2 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past. 
  • 3.3 Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land. 
  • 3.5 Students demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills and an understanding of the economy of the local region. 
  • 4.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California. 
  • 4.4 Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development since the 1850s. 
  • 8.12 Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial Revolution. 
  • 10.3 Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. 
  • 11.2 Students analyze the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. 

Writing–Research to Build and Present Knowledge 

  • W.3.7 / W.4.7  
    Conduct short research projects. 
  • W.3.8 / W.4.8  
    Recall and gather information from sources. 
  • WHST.9-10.7 / WHST.11-12.7 
    Conduct short research projects. 
  • WHST.9-10.8 / WHST.11-12.8 
    Recall and gather information from sources. 
  • Creating - Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work  
  • Responding – Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work  
  • Connecting – Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding 
Table of contents heading: Standards

Contributors and Reviewers

Kristin Brisbois McNutt, Ph.D., is educator programs specialist at The Huntington.

Sarah Thomas is senior manager of school programs and partnerships at The Huntington.

Dora Dalton is a freelance writer and editor. 

Diego Godoy, Ph.D., is associate curator of California and Hispanic collections. 

Victoria Gonzalez is digital learning specialist at The Huntington. 

Special thanks to the 2025–26 Teacher Advisory Panel: Amelia Angulo, Marivell Caba Arayasirikul, E. Dominic Black, Rubina Chadha, Merek Chang, Dolores Delgado, Shannon Garrison, Meghann Kraft, Rachel Kulik, Dahlia Martin, Rachel Morrison, Michael Ochs, Dr. Izzy Pittman, Laura Ruiz, and Giuliana Silva.