Building Hope: The New Deal and Texas Farms (2007)

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. Government created many programs to help unemployed Americans. The Building Hope video documentary tells the story of three different communities that were built in Texas through support from President Roosevelt’s administration to address widespread poverty among tenant farmers and sharecroppers. In “Ropesville”, original settlers tell the story of building a farm community from the west Texas soil in the Dust Bowl days of the 1930’s. “Sabine Farms” is the story of the only African American community built in Texas as part of this national program. In “Dalworthington Gardens,” original settlers and their descendants tell the story of building a better life in their community of subsistence truck gardens between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Descendants of original settlers still live and farm or garden on a portion of these settlements.

Part 1: Ropesville