Electricity and Plumbing Change Rural Farm Life in the Early 20th Century

Although nearly 90 percent of urban households had electricity by the 1930s, only 10 percent of rural households had access. The cost to bring power lines to remote farm homes was too expensive for private utility companies, so the government stepped in to help with creation of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in 1935.

When Pete first started taking photos, electric lights and indoor plumbing had not yet arrived in most farms. But when electricity came, it meant running water could be pumped into farmhouses. Soon plans were in the works for toilets, sinks, and bathtubs.

Patty Doak: "It just felt like I was the wealthiest person in the world. It felt great not to have to go outside to go to the restroom."

Until then, family members had used backyard outhouses for their bathroom duties. Tip-toeing barefoot in the dark through yards where chickens ran all day, exposing bare skin on cold winter days, and turning to the Sears Roebuck catalog as a predecessor to Charmin.

Robert Wettach: "It was the first time I'd been away from home overnight. I was probably about seven or eight at the time. We drove into the yard and the mother came out and said, Bob, go on back to the barn; the kids are back of the barn. About halfway between the barn and the house, I went by this building that looked to me like an outhouse. I thought that's a big one; it must be a four-holer. But they had four kids; I could understand that, so I didn't think much about it. I went out and played. I came back in the evening, and we had supper. We're playing anagrams and I realized I better go to the bathroom. I went out from the dining room table where we were playing the anagrams, down the steps, outside, and made a dash for the four-holer, opened the door, and there were hams hanging in this building.  It was a smokehouse instead of the privy. I came charging back and walked in the dining room and the father said, "upstairs, Bob." I went upstairs and they had a flush toilet. I couldn't believe it! The first one I'd ever seen!"