Of all of the Farm Services Administration photographers, no one photographed as much of Route 40 than John Vachon.
Born in 1914, Vachon was actually a clerk at the FSA with the assignment of writing captions for photographs. For years, various people urged Vachon to take up photography. Finally his resistance wore thin and he took up the art. In no time at all, Vachon proved his photographic skills were equal to the rest of the FSA team.
Vachon's primary subject area included the plight of the rural poor. Along Route 40, Vachon captured everyday scenes from New Castle, Delaware to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Following his stint at the FSA, Vachon continued his photographic career, working for magazines such as Life.
Vachon died in 1975 in New York City.
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