How Women On Horseback Safeguarded US Literary Heritage During Great Depression

The Great Depression was a time of unparalleled economic hardship in the United States. Across the country, families struggled to make ends meet, and in the rugged terrains of Kentucky, the situation was particularly dire. The mountainous landscape made travel difficult and isolated many communities from essential services and cultural resources. During these challenging times, a remarkable group of women emerged as unsung heroes. Known as the 'Book Women', these fearless librarians rode horseback hundreds of miles through treacherous terrain to deliver books to the poor and isolated communities. 

Who Were Book Women?

The Book Women played a key role in preserving literary tradition in some of the most remote corners of the US. When the lack of educational and recreational materials became a significant barrier, Appalachian regions like Kentucky were the worst hit. The government realised that reading and education were essential parts of the recovery of these communities.

The Pack Horse Library initiative, established in the mid-1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'New Deal', was created to help lift America out of the Great Depression. The project, implemented and managed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1944, provided job opportunities while addressing the educational needs of rural America. 

Unlike many New Deal projects, this plan required the help of locals and women. Makeshift libraries were set up from churches to post offices. Meanwhile, to those who could not access these resources, the Book Women carried the material to remote regions. They not only distributed books but also often read them to people, fostering a sense of belonging in dire times.

No matter the weather or terrain, these women rode hundreds of miles to supply reading material in remote regions, earning $28 a month. According to historian Daniel C. Boyd, there were 274 librarians riding out across 29 counties by the end of 1938. By 1943, the project had employed around 200 people and reached approximately 100,000 residents in rural Kentucky.

Nan Milan, a book woman in an eight-mile radius from a boarding school called Pine Mountain Settlement, joked that the horse she rode, named Sunny Jim, had shorter legs on one side than the other so that they wouldn't slide off of the steep mountain paths. Riders used their own horses or mules or leased them from neighbours. The books were mostly outside donations.

One time, a Kentuckian who had moved to California sent 500 books as a memorial to his mother. One Pittsburgh benefactor collected reading material and told a reporter from Smithsonian Magazine stories she'd heard from the Book Women. "Let the book lady leave us something to read on Sundays and at night when we get through hoeing the corn," one child asked. 

In 1943, after Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the end of the Work Progress Administration, the Pack Horse Library initiative came to an end since the World War II effort was putting people back to work. While it marked the end of horseback-delivered books, in 1946, motorized bookmobiles came into action. According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Kentucky’s public libraries had 75 bookmobiles in 2014—the largest number in the United States.