Oklahoma City had one of the largest and longest lasting Hoovervilles. It was in and around the stockyards, the old city dump, and the south bank of the Canadian river. It lasted until the 1950s. The old downtown airpark was built on part of the shanty town and Dell is built on the west end.

Lange and others who documented the plight of the migrant workers came to OKC to photograph what was considered one of the biggest and worst Shantytowns. Lange took this photo, named "Damaged Childe," in the OKC Hooverville. It is less known than "Migrant Mother" but many consider it a superior photo.

This camp was exactly how Steinbeck described those the Joads passed through in California.