In 1935 (as part of the New Deal) in an effort to combat extreme rural poverty from the Great Depression, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) started the Resettlement Administration. Essentially, this ‘rural rehabilitation’ was established to improve the lives of sharecroppers, tenants, and very poor landowning farmers.
But this relief system did not come without attack, specifically from the Farm Bureau, which deemed it an experiment in ‘collectivizing agriculture’ – essentially using and exploiting farmers to work on large, government-owned farms. Eventually, the Conservative coalition took control of Congress and transformed it into a program that helped poor farmers buy land, now known as the Farmers Home Administration.
Throughout that time though, many poor farmers worked tirelessly on crops to repay loans, and migratory workers found themselves in FSA operated camps (like Weedpatch Camp depicted in The Grapes of Wrath). North Carolina was a prime source of FSA and RA work for two main crops – tobacco and cotton. Migratory workers from Florida and poor landowners worked day-in and day-out.
The FSA and RA are known for their striking photography program that hired photographers to document and report the lives and struggles of poor farm workers. One notable photographer, Dorothea Lange, is responsible for many images you will see below.
These 25 images show the honest day in the life of rehabilitation workers in North Carolina.
- Horse-drawn
Yale / Photogrammar A resettlement client in modern-day Fuquay-Varina gets ready for a day on the farm. This picture was captured in 1935.
- “Worming” the tobacco.
Yale / Photogrammar A daughter of a sharecropper goes up and down the rows to “worm” the tobacco. Captured in 1939 in Wake County.
- Tobacco sleds.
Yale / Photogrammar Two young children stand on the newly repaired tobacco sleds. The screen platform just behind them is where a member of the family slept at night to tend to the fire. Captured in 1939, Wake County.
- Baling hay.
Yale / Photogrammar Workers bail hay on Mary E. Jones’ Place. The sons, W.E and R.E Jones, own 99 acres and 60 acres, respectively. The land has been in ownership of the family for over 45 years. It is located off Route 91, two miles from Wake Forest (Wake County). This image was captured in 1939.
- Gentleman’s discussion.
Yale / Photogrammar A rehabilitation supervisor discusses the tobacco crop with one of his clients in Smithfield, 1936.
- Making payments.
Yale / Photogrammar A successful cotton crop enables this rehabilitation client to make a payment on his loan. Smithfield, 1936.
- Amazing capture.
Yale / Photogrammar A woman gathers coal. She and her family reside in the upper part of a tobacco barn while her husband works at Fort Bragg. Fayetteville, 1941.
- Lining up.
Yale / Photogrammar Lines of farmers wait to buy cotton seed, which they are buying cooperatively. Roanoke Farms, 1938.
- In front of the smokehouse.
Yale / Photogrammar A project farmer poses for a picture in front of a smokehouse. Enfield, 1938.
- Barefoot farming.
Yale / Photogrammar A tobacco farmer poses with a hoe that is used for ‘chopping’ the places where plants are to be dropped. Farrington, 1940.
- Fields of cotton.
Yale / Photogrammar Two sharecroppers pick cotton on a farm that was owned by a woman named Mrs. Rigsby. Taken five miles south of Chapel Hill, 1939.
- Fields of corn.
Yale / Photogrammar Shucks of corn. Picture captured outside of Asheville, 1939.
- Family portrait.
Yale / Photogrammar A sharecropper and his family pose for a picture outside of Chapel Hill in 1939. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the tobacco grows right up to the front porch.
- Mid-conversation.
Yale / Photogrammar Connie B. Gay, a member of the FSA (Farm Security Administration) carries on a conversation with Emery Hooper about his tractor and disc plow, both of which were purchased with an FSA cooperative community service loan. Prospect Hill, 1940.
- Loading it up.
Yale / Photogrammar A man loads lespedeza hay with the help of a young child. Caswell County, 1940.
- Against the barn.
Yale / Photogrammar A large amount of corn shucks lean against a barn in Frogsboro, 1939.
- Supper break.
Yale / Photogrammar Migratory agriculture workers take a break for supper in Belcross, 1940.
- Living quarters.
Yale / Photogrammar A migratory worker from Florida sits in her living quarters commonly shared with several other workers. Belcross, 1940.
- The way to do it.
Yale / Photogrammar Two farmers put in tobacco with a little animal assistance. Granville, 1939.
- Stringing tobacco.
Yale / Photogrammar Mrs. Oakley, wife of tenant farmer, strings tobacco during the harvest season. Granville, 1939.
- From the window.
Yale / Photogrammar At only seventeen, this young mother sits with her five-month old baby. She is the wife of tobacco sharecropper, Mr. Taylor. The day before, she was helping to ‘put in’ tobacco on the farm. Granville, 1939.
- ‘Taking it easy.’
Yale / Photogrammar “Tobacco people” take a break after a long morning of “putting up” tobacco. Granville, 1939.
- The final crop.
Yale / Photogrammar A rehabilitation supervisor examines a client’s final tobacco crop in Durham, 1936.
- Successful crop.
Yale / Photogrammar A rehabilitation client poses with his tobacco crop of the season that will help to repay his loan. Durham, 1936.
- That’s a sell.
Yale / Photogrammar A truckload of tobacco is hauled off to the cigarette storage warehouse in Durham, 1939.
What amazing photographs! What did you think? Do you have personal ties to North Carolina agriculture or the RA program? Tell us in the comments!
Yale / Photogrammar
A resettlement client in modern-day Fuquay-Varina gets ready for a day on the farm. This picture was captured in 1935.
A daughter of a sharecropper goes up and down the rows to “worm” the tobacco. Captured in 1939 in Wake County.
Two young children stand on the newly repaired tobacco sleds. The screen platform just behind them is where a member of the family slept at night to tend to the fire. Captured in 1939, Wake County.
Workers bail hay on Mary E. Jones’ Place. The sons, W.E and R.E Jones, own 99 acres and 60 acres, respectively. The land has been in ownership of the family for over 45 years. It is located off Route 91, two miles from Wake Forest (Wake County). This image was captured in 1939.
A rehabilitation supervisor discusses the tobacco crop with one of his clients in Smithfield, 1936.
A successful cotton crop enables this rehabilitation client to make a payment on his loan. Smithfield, 1936.
A woman gathers coal. She and her family reside in the upper part of a tobacco barn while her husband works at Fort Bragg. Fayetteville, 1941.
Lines of farmers wait to buy cotton seed, which they are buying cooperatively. Roanoke Farms, 1938.
A project farmer poses for a picture in front of a smokehouse. Enfield, 1938.
A tobacco farmer poses with a hoe that is used for ‘chopping’ the places where plants are to be dropped. Farrington, 1940.
Two sharecroppers pick cotton on a farm that was owned by a woman named Mrs. Rigsby. Taken five miles south of Chapel Hill, 1939.
Shucks of corn. Picture captured outside of Asheville, 1939.
A sharecropper and his family pose for a picture outside of Chapel Hill in 1939. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the tobacco grows right up to the front porch.
Connie B. Gay, a member of the FSA (Farm Security Administration) carries on a conversation with Emery Hooper about his tractor and disc plow, both of which were purchased with an FSA cooperative community service loan. Prospect Hill, 1940.
A man loads lespedeza hay with the help of a young child. Caswell County, 1940.
A large amount of corn shucks lean against a barn in Frogsboro, 1939.
Migratory agriculture workers take a break for supper in Belcross, 1940.
A migratory worker from Florida sits in her living quarters commonly shared with several other workers. Belcross, 1940.
Two farmers put in tobacco with a little animal assistance. Granville, 1939.
Mrs. Oakley, wife of tenant farmer, strings tobacco during the harvest season. Granville, 1939.
At only seventeen, this young mother sits with her five-month old baby. She is the wife of tobacco sharecropper, Mr. Taylor. The day before, she was helping to ‘put in’ tobacco on the farm. Granville, 1939.
“Tobacco people” take a break after a long morning of “putting up” tobacco. Granville, 1939.
A rehabilitation supervisor examines a client’s final tobacco crop in Durham, 1936.
A rehabilitation client poses with his tobacco crop of the season that will help to repay his loan. Durham, 1936.
A truckload of tobacco is hauled off to the cigarette storage warehouse in Durham, 1939.
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