These 15 Rare Photos Show Alabama’s Agricultural History Like Never Before

Rare photos showcase the evolution of Alabama's agriculture from the early to mid-1900s.

Along with forestry, agriculture is Alabama's top industry. Approximately 82% of the state's annual agricultural production comes from livestock production, while the remaining 18% comes from crops. Agriculture will always be a huge part of Alabama's economy.

From the early to mid-1900s, agriculture in Alabama was very different from what it is today. Posted below are 15 rare photos that reflect just how different.

1. George Washington Carver is holding a large piece of soil while standing in the middle of an open field. (1906)

2. James Drigger, of Coffee County, Alabama, is feeding his chickens alongside his wife and children. (August 1941)

3. This photo of a cotton farm in southwestern Alabama was snapped in the late 1930s.

4. Mrs. Brown is seen here feeding her sows and pigs in Prairie Farms, Alabama. (March 1939)

5. This image of an Alabama plow girl was captured near Eutaw, Alabama. (July 1936)

6. A group of doffers is seen here taking a break from work in the Pell City Cotton Mill. (November 1910)

7. Mr. Watkins, of Coffee County, Alabama, is seen here plowing his farm. (April 1939)

8. An Alabama tenant farmer near Anniston, Alabama is in deep thought as he's speaking to the other farmers. (July 1936)

9. This photo of an Alabama cotton gin was snapped in Hale County during the summer of 1936.

10. Also during the summer of 1936, in Hale County, Lucille Burroughs is seen here picking cotton.

11. In Macon County, Alabama, Dave Lewis is cultivating cotton while aboard his tractor. (1940)

12. This photo of a farmer's wife and children, alongside their pigs and chickens, was snapped in Pike County, Alabama during the late 1930s.

13. Jorena Pettway is feeding a group of livestock in Gees Bend, Alabama. (May 1939)

14. A farmer's corn field near Eutaw, Alabama is beginning to dry up. (June 1936)

15. Farm workers are seen here picking cotton in Colbert County, Alabama in the late 1930s.

After seeing these rare photos, there's no denying that Alabama's agriculture industry has come a really long way over the years. For more rare photos of Alabama, check out these Alabama schools from the early 1900s. They're so different.

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