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came here in 1930. The stock market broke in 1929. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back," said Giles Miller, who worked with Culpeper's Central Fidelity Bank for a half century.
"Stocks really went down. I remejnber Bethlehem Steel selling for $123 a share before the crash. It went to $7. But compared to other places in the country, Rappahannock people weren’t as effected. They didn’t have as many stocks as others. The wealthy had most of their money invested in land and cattle."
A few days after President Roosevelt took office in 1933, he ordered all the banks across the country closed. “Those that were in good shape—like two banks in Culpeper and Rappahannock National—I think they were only closed for four days but plenty of others around the country kept their doors shut for 30 days or more until they were declared safe.”
On the heels on the depression in Rappahannock County came the drought. "For Rappahannock, I think the drought did more damage than anything else. Orchards, corn and hay crops were devastated. Cattle suffered. Farmers had to sell whole herds because of lack of feed to carry them through the winter. Cattle prices were down and feed prices were up,” Miller recalled.
"People didn’t have any money. Real estate values went down, down, down. People didn’t have any money because of the depression. And they had to sell their land because of the economic conditions—the depression—and the drought.
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