Weedpatch Camp is a Farm Security Administration camp, one of about 16 in the US during the Depression, to aid migrant workers and today is the only one with any original buildings left. It was built in 1935 to house the flood of desperate, white farm laborers who arrived from the South and the Great Plains in search of opportunity in the Golden State.
John Steinbeck immortalized the struggles of the 'Okies' in this camp in his celebrated novel, The Grapes of Wrath, which chronicles the story of migrant families who were simultaneously unwelcome and exploited. After some recent restoration, the historical buildings sparkle with a surreal sheen, and stand as a reminder of the potential pitfalls of agribusiness's reliance on a migrant workforce eager for a chance. The tracts of small shelters nearby, house Mexican migrant workers (with legal residency), who arrive every April for the six-month grape harvest.
From Bakersfield, take Hwy 58 east to Weedpatch Hwy; head south for about 7 miles, past Lamont; then turn left on Sunset Blvd. The buildings (the sign reads ‘Arvin Farm Labor Center’) are on your right. Dust Bowl Days is a free celebration of Okie history held here on the third Saturday of October.
