The Modesto region in the late 1800s was primarily agricultural.
By 1900 Modesto’s population was about 2500 – just beginning urbanization.
By 1913 cars had appeared, and new urban ideas began to emerge.
The U.S. urban share of the total population had grown from 39% to 45%.
Still, many people lived in the
surrounding rural areas and
visited the city infrequently.
Rural culture was still very much
dominant and many people were
suspicious of “city life”. But new
beliefs began to challenge old
ones.
New norms: ladies prepare to drive the Model T into town.
1920s Modesto - more than 10,000 people - city life and new values were the majority.
By the 1930s the culture had become more open with increased personal freedoms
Summer 1941; many of the 17,000 residents would soon travel far away…
…and return to a modern city with an entirely new set of worldly attitudes.