Agriculture has always played a huge role in Mississippi, so much so that it’s practically impossible to discuss the state’s history without mentioning it. And since farming is still a major part of life in the Magnolia State, we thought it’d be interesting to revisit the state farms of yesteryear. From vintage farmhouses and equipment to farmers and sharecroppers, these 15 photos perfectly capture what farm life used to be like in Mississippi.

1. Located in Marshall County, a remote farmhouse sits on acres of eroded land.
John Vachon/Library of Congress
2. Three young day laborers pick cotton in Clarksdale.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
3. Taken in August of 1940, this photo depicts a standard day on the Hopson Plantation near Clarksdale.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
4. The young daughter of a farmer gathers eggs on a farm in Merigold.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
5. In order to fully utilize the rich land of the Delta, it was not uncommon for crops to be planted extremely close to buildings, such as in this photo taken near Clarksdale.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
6. Standard tenant houses line the property of a Rolling Fork cotton plantation.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
7. The newly purchased home and mules of a Belzoni tenant farmer.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress

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8. A Merigold farmer tends to his stock in November of 1939.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
9. Clarkdale day laborers bring their cotton yield to an awaiting wagon.
Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress
10. In July of 1937, a cotton hoer on a Coahoma County farm takes a short break.
Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress
11. A sharecropper’s children spend the day picking sweet potatoes on a farm near Laurel.
Russell Lee/Library of Congress
12. Two men on a Sunflower plantation work to repair a “double shovel” cultivator.
Carl Mydans/Library of Congress
13. Workers on a cooperative farm in the Delta pose for a picture in the summer of 1937.
Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress
14. Working from 6:00 am until 7:00 pm, these Clarksdale cotton hoers were paid $1 for a day's labor.
Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress
15. A farmer plows sweet potatoes on a farm near Laurel.
Russell Lee/Library of Congress

It’s interesting to see how much things have changed yet stayed the same. What did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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