Square Dance Collection

Scene at square dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Creator: Russell Lee
Scene at square dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma

Scene at square dance in rural home in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Creator: Russell Lee
Scene at square dance in rural home in McIntosh County, Oklahoma

Orchestra during intermission at square dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Creator: Russell Lee
Orchestra during intermission at square dance; notice sweated shirt of host, McIntosh County, Oklahoma

Couples at square dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Creator: Russell Lee
Couples at square dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma

Newcastle (b / w photo)
3626601 Newcastle (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Newcastle. A square country dance to the tune of an old ballad)

Front cover of the music cover for Merry England
NBR140096 Front cover of the music cover for Merry England, a quadrille by Wilhelm Keller (colour litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; English, out of copyright

SQUARE DANCE, 1940. Square dancing at home in Pie Town, New Mexico. Photograph, 1940, by Russell Lee

VERMONT: FIDDLER, 1941. Fiddler Ed Lorkin playing music for square dances at the Worlds Fair at Tunbridge, Vermont. Photograph by Jack Delano, September 1941

COUNTRY DANCE, 19th CENTURY. A canvas dance floor at an outdoor party in western America. Photograph, late 19th century

A dance in the recreation tent at a Farm Security Administration workers camp in Bridgeton, New Jersey
NEW JERSEY: DANCE, 1942. A dance in the recreation tent at a Farm Security Administration workers camp in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Photograph by John Collier, June 1942

Children Learn Square Dancing
Chicago, Illinois: October 23, 1953 Third graders at the Coonley School practice the grape vine step as they learn how to square dance

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Step into the past with these captivating images of square dances from the 1930s and 1940s. In this series of photographs taken by Russell Lee in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, and Pie Town, New Mexico, dancers come together in rural settings, their faces radiant with joy and excitement. The orchestra takes a breather during a lively intermission, while children eagerly learn the steps that have been passed down through generations. Meanwhile, in a different era, a canvas dance floor unfolds at an outdoor party, and a fiddler plays merry tunes for a Vermont square dance. These timeless moments capture the essence of community, tradition, and the simple pleasure of dance.