RETRO FILES / AMERICAN SALOON 1939

In January 1939, the Golden Eagle Bar operated as a modest “juke‑joint” style watering hole in the African American section of Belle Glade, Palm Beach County—part of the broader migrant labor camps that dotted the Everglades agricultural region. Photographed by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, the bar provided a modest interior space where workers gathered for music, dancing, drinks, and a break from back‑breaking field work en.wikipedia.org+11loc.gov+11facebook.com+11.

These establishments, though roughly built, served as vital communal hubs. The Golden Eagle Bar likely welcomed a mix of soda, jukeboxes, and informal social life—typical of bars aimed at migrant laborers and farmhands in south-central Florida during the Great Depression era floridamemory.comprewarcar.com. The imagery and anecdotal recollections—such as from online vintage photo communities—emphasize its role as a working‑class social refuge rather than a polished urban tavern facebook.com.