One of the major forms of agriculture in the south, cotton production shaped the lives of many. The Marjory L. Smith Slide Collection contains 71 color slides taken by Marjorie in and around Hayneville (Lowndes County) Alabama in the early 1960’s.

Although some of the images show men working the harvesters, it’s clear that some of the work had changed little from the days of slavery… and neither had some of the living conditions.

Step back in time, to the days not so very long ago, when people still drove horse and buggy because it was all they had.

Imagine what it was like to have lived only 50 years ago, struggling to survive by working the cotton fields in the Deep South. Visit the Marjory L. Smith Slide Collection.