Winter 2003

Economic History

Wheels of Change
The Automotive Industry's Sweeping Effects on the Fifth District
By Robert Lacy

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Chart: Percent of Farms Reporting Automobiles, Trucks, and Tractors 1920-1940

	1920	1930	1940
Virginia
Automobile	15.3	47.1	43.0
Truck	1.3	10.5	11.9
Tractor	1.2	5.4	6.2
North Carolina
Automobile	15.5	44.8	42.4
Truck	0.9	6.3	6.9
Tractor	0.8	3.9	4.3
South Carolina
Automobile	15.9	37.4	42.8
Truck	.08	4.2	5.4
Tractor	0.6	2.0	3.1

SOURCE: Census of Agriculture 1940. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1940.