Jim Norris, homesteader, Pie Town, New Mexico
October, 1940
Library of Congress/Flickr The Commons Project

Pie Town was opened to homesteaders in 1934, attracting many farmers from dust bowl states who specialized in growing pinto beans and other products that grew well in New Mexico's dry climate. Russell Lee's 1940 photographs of dust bowl families in Pie Town became emblematic icons for President Roosevelt's New Deal anti-poverty programs, largely as a result of the popularity and quality of Russell Lee's photographs.