From the Archives: Huntington, West Virginia, 1930

1930. The United States was entering an economic depression. My dad had recently graduated from Tufts College in Medford, Massachusetts with a degree in civil engineering. After a couple of short term jobs in the Boston area, he accepted a position with the Huntington District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. He packed his belongings in his Ford Model T and drove to Huntington. He had not traveled far afield before, so this was a new life adventure for him.  

In 1930, Huntington was still a new town, having been incorporated only in 1871. The city was named  after Collis P. Huntington, a railroad baron. The railroad was a major employer through most of the early 20th century. The Great Depression must have hit West Virginia hard, especially considering how much of its economy was based on mining. But my dad had a job and did not write about economics problems in his diary. 

Here are some of his 1930 photographs of Huntington. Normally, he did not do city photography. His usual interests were family, coworkers, and social events. I assume he sent prints of his new home to relatives back in Massachusetts.

View of downtown Huntington with snow

Downtown and original Sixth Street Bridge

The Sixth Street Bridge opened in 1926, connecting Huntington to Chesapeake, Ohio, across the Ohio River. The old bridge was finally closed in 1993 and demolished in 1995.

   

Hotel Prichard and downtown Huntington

The Hotel Prichard was Huntington's sophisticated hotel from 1926 until the 1960s. When it opened, each guest room had a private bathroom. J.F. Kennedy, Gene Autry, and other famous guests stayed in the Prichard. It went through a difficult period after 1970. Recently, it has been revamped to become a health center and affordable housing for Seniors.

Huntington from Ritter Park Historic District, possibly Ridgewood Road. 

This mansion may no longer be extant.  Update: Thanks to a comment from an observant reader (see below), this big house is at 1867 McCoy Road. This is the exclusive area now known as the Southern Hills, now graced with modern homes and ostentatious McMansions. 

From Google Maps aerial photography (Imagery ©2025 Airbus, Maxar Technologies)

Oh, oh, the gangsta look

This is my dad with a lady friend. I do not know how long they knew each other or why they drifted apart.

St. Charles Avenue (note the brick paving)

This is the boarding house on St. Charles Avenue where my dad lived. Boarding houses were a common living situation in the United States for single men in the 1800s and up through the middle of the 20th century. The residents typically ate communally and shared bathrooms. According to housingsolutions, 

"Boarding houses were a powerful cultural force from their origin in the early 19th century, through to the mid 20th century when they tended to fade away due to more zoning regulations that marginalized them. They allowed many people to move to large cities, who otherwise would not have found housing there. Social mixing was promoted, an early form of “diversity” promotion and “multiculturalism.”"

Another view of Huntsville. A reader wrote that the church is the Trinity Episcopal Church at the corner of 5th Avenue and 11th Street.

These negatives were in a box that has been in the family for decades. I reluctantly had to make a serious effort to eliminate some of the papers and photographs we have at home. The negatives are on nitrate stock, and I am sure the safety people would state adamantly that such dangerous material should not be in the house. Well, they have been stable for 100 years. I scanned these negatives with an Epson Perfection 3200 Photo flat bed scanner. Original camera and lens unknown.

These negatives are 100 years old. Will our digital files last that long? (You know the answer......)