An American hobo sits on a fence in Napa, California, circa 1920. These fascinating historical photos reveal the relatively unknown history of the migrant worker or “hobos” in early twentieth-century America. The American hobo is a unique figure in the country’s history, characterized by their transient lifestyle and association with the railroads that began in the post-Civil War era when many veterans were displaced and unemployed. Hoboken, New Jersey, circa 1910. Making turtle soup, Minneapolis, Minnesota, circa 1939. A barber working at the Hotel de Gink, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers located in New York, circa 1915. Many of these men traveled the country looking for any short-term manual work they could find, often finding paid jobs on the very railroads they relied upon for transportation.
As such, the hobo way of life started and these men took pride in their untethered yet noble lifestyle. In 1889, the nationwide hobo body was founded in Missouri establishing a strict ethical code. The sixteen rules included tenets like: “Decide your own life, don’t let another person run or rule you”; “When in town, always respect the local law and officials”; “Always try to find work, even if temporary”; and “Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk”. Two hobos walk along railway tracks. One carries a brindle, date unknown. James Eads Howe, founder of the International Brotherhood Welfare Association, an aid society for hobos. Howe was born to a wealthy St. Louis family but chose instead to live his life as a hobo. A migratory boy in a squatter camp in 1939 who had come to Yakima Valley, Washington for the third year running to pick hops. His mother said ‘You’d be surprised what that boy can pick’. Photo taken by Dorothea Lange. This man was said to have been a hobo for over 25 years working on mines, lumber camps, and farms, December 1938, location unknown. Boxer Lou Ambers cooks over a campfire, using a tin can on a stick. Ambers was a world lightweight boxing champion but before that, he traveled across America to compete in ‘bootleg bouts’ so he could earn some money for his widowed Mother, circa 1929.
The National Hobo Convention continues in Britt, Iowa every year — a festival that began in 1900. There used to be a nationwide chain of inns called “Hotel de Gink” which was established for hobos. Though it was called a hotel, it operated more like a homeless shelter. During that early period of the 1900s, an entire language known as “the hobo code” was created to help the migrant workers communicate with one another. The visual signs that hobos used were often in charcoal and coal. The code would aid fellow travelers in finding a safe space to rest for the night, a home that might offer a warm meal, or warning of a mean dog. Family who traveled by freight train, Yakima Valley, Washington, August, 1939. Photo taken by Dorothea Lange. A hobo wakes up early in the morning from his bed alongside a corral in Imperial Valley, California, 1939. Men wash dishes at the Hotel de Gink, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers located in New York. 1915. A hobo who had arrived for the Klamath Basin potato harvest, Tukelake, California, August 1939. The number of hobos increased greatly during the Great Depression era of the 1930s. With no work and no prospects at home, many men — and even whole families — decided to travel for free by freight train and try their luck elsewhere. This era is when Dorothea Lange captured migrant families in the Dust Bowl area of Oklahoma and when she shot the famous Migrant Mother photo in California.
Future world lightweight boxing champion, Lou Ambers was forced to take to the rails and work following this economic downturn. While others like wealthy heir James Eads Howe — dubbed “The Millionaire Hobo” — voluntarily chose to live as one. He financed the International Brotherhood Welfare Association, an aid society for hobos. Florence Owens Thompson, also known as “Migrant Mother” who was the sitter in the iconic Great Depression photograph, sits in a makeshift tent at a pea pickers camp in Nipomo, California, 1936. Photo taken by Dorothea Lange. Men prepare Mulligan Stew, a famous Hobo dish, at the Hotel de Gink, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers located in New York, circa 1915. A group of men in suits gather around a table full of food at a hobo convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1912. The modern interpretation of the word hobo has changed greatly with it now more likely to be used as an insult alongside “tramp” or “bum”. But hobos differentiated themselves from “tramps” or “bums” by the set of standards they aspired to live by.
