Members of the Women's Land Army in orchard
8/1944
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Original caption states: "Members of the Women's Land Army of World War II, wearing the regulation cape, shirts, and overalls, pick peaches in August 1944. The three in the foreground are (left to right): Frances Hickman, Lillian Dewdney, and Nancy Dick."
Additional historical context from the photograph includes: "In time of war American women always take over the jobs left vacant by the men on the fighting fronts. These jobs include the cultivation and harvesting of crops needed to feed the armed forces, the civilian population, and our allies.
In World War I women of all ages from schools and colleges, from professional and business offices and from homes in towns and cities joined the farmererttes who came to the aid of farmers in 1917 and 1918. In World War II they have done the same thing, but on a vastly bigger scale. Since Pearl Harbor hundreds of thousands of women - from the stage, radio, and press, from stores, offices, and educational institutions - have enrolled in the Womens' Land Army. The Land Army is a division of the U. S. Crop Corps, organized and directed by the Extension Service of the U.. S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the State extension services, to meet the present acute farm labor shortage. Some of these women signed up for as long as a year; others, for their entire vacation of two or three months or of one to three weeks. Still others go out only to meet emergency calls for extra hired hands, such as for the harvesting of a bumper fruit crop.
These pictures show the response to a call to save the peach crop on a farm near Leesburg, VA, in August, 1917 and in August, 1944."
Additional historical context from the photograph includes: "In time of war American women always take over the jobs left vacant by the men on the fighting fronts. These jobs include the cultivation and harvesting of crops needed to feed the armed forces, the civilian population, and our allies.
In World War I women of all ages from schools and colleges, from professional and business offices and from homes in towns and cities joined the farmererttes who came to the aid of farmers in 1917 and 1918. In World War II they have done the same thing, but on a vastly bigger scale. Since Pearl Harbor hundreds of thousands of women - from the stage, radio, and press, from stores, offices, and educational institutions - have enrolled in the Womens' Land Army. The Land Army is a division of the U. S. Crop Corps, organized and directed by the Extension Service of the U.. S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the State extension services, to meet the present acute farm labor shortage. Some of these women signed up for as long as a year; others, for their entire vacation of two or three months or of one to three weeks. Still others go out only to meet emergency calls for extra hired hands, such as for the harvesting of a bumper fruit crop.
These pictures show the response to a call to save the peach crop on a farm near Leesburg, VA, in August, 1917 and in August, 1944."
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture.
National Archives Identifier: 175539340
Full Citation: 16-G-323-N-5958; Members of the Women's Land Army of World War II, wearing the regulation caps, shirts, and overalls, march into the orchard; 8/1944; Historical File of the Office of Information, Department of Agriculture, 1900–1959; Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Record Group 16; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/members-womens-land-army-in-orchard, May 23, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Women at Work: World War II
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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