Hidden Corners of History - The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl

Jarrod E. Stephens

For The Ashland Beacon

According to the calendar, our summer season is swiftly coming to an end. With only a few weeks remaining, the summer heat and extremely dry conditions have been a “hot” topic for sure. Most locations in our region received little or no measurable rain in the month of August which has led to extremely dry and dusty conditions. Living on a gravel road it is impossible to keep my car clean because of the dust. Instead of tracking mud inside we’re leaving dusty prints on the floor. I’ve also been blessed with concerned citizens writing messages like “Wash me please!” on the back of my vehicles. In spite of the lack of rainfall, things have not gotten nearly as bad as an era known as the “Dust Bowl.”

After Thomas Jefferson cut the deal for the Louisiana Purchase, we’ve all heard how he sent Lewis and Clark to explore. The journey is one of intrigue and helped pave the way for further exploration of the region. However, a later expedition by Stephen Long and John Bell helped to create the idea that much of Oklahoma and other mid-western states was a barren desert. Their expedition concluded that much of the region was a treeless and waterless area that was not suitable for human habitation. Boy were they wrong! It may have been uninhabitable without the help of technology, but now that region is considered to be the Great Plains.   

The grasslands were extremely dry but very fertile. Unbeknownst to the earliest farmers, the grass that covered the region has holding precious water which kept everything from completely drying out. After the Homestead Act of 1862 led to a major influx of settlers in the plains, the land was tilled and the number of native grasses dwindled. An even greater amount of the soil was tilled at the onset of WWI when the demand for wheat increased.

As if the Great War followed by the Great Depression was not enough for our country to bear, then came a series of seasonal droughts which devastated crops and left the soil exposed. Fierce winds began to blow across the region and picked up the silt and carried it for miles. Entire towns would be blanketed in the dust.

Hundreds of dust storms blew across the Midwest in the 1930s, but the silt knew no bounds. In 1934 a storm carried hundreds of tons of silt all the way to the eastern coast. Ships that were out in the Atlantic were said to have had dust settling on their decks. The effects of human error coupled with natural forces created a devastating “perfect storm.”

It wasn’t until 1935 when the term “Dust Bowl” was first used in newspapers. The storms were said to have looked like “black blizzards” as the dislodged silt blew across the plains at 60 mph.

Agricultural studies helped to prove that too much of the plains region had been tilled under and the fertile soil was exposed to the dry winds which was coupled with the unfortunate drought. It was a hard lesson to learn. Many homesteads that were once vibrant and productive failed. Federal emergency relief funds were made available to help families survive. Farmers had to decide whether to relocate or try to survive the dust. 

It took many years, but better farming practices were introduced, and the devastation subsided. The drought also ended which allowed farmers to plant crops and cover the soil so that it would not get dislodged and carried by the wind. A hard lesson was learned about how we have to take care of the land for it to take care of us. Another drought began in the 1950s but better agricultural practices lessened its overall effects.

Sure, the summer of 2025 has been a hot and dry ordeal, but as a farmer it has been one of the only summers where I never had to worry about my hay getting wet and most everything has continued to grow. Until we receive some rain and the dust settles on my gravel road, my vehicles will continue to be dust covered, so instead of leaving me messages of “wash me please,” leave me some money or a gift certificate for the car wash. Or better yet, wash it please.