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.

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

Library of Congress/Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Collier, John, 1913-1992, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Lange, Dorothea, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Lange, Dorothea, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Lange, Dorothea, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Evans, Walker, 1903-1975, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Evans, Walker, 1903-1975, photographer

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

Library of Congress/A. A. A. photo No. 5007W by Harmon

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

photogrammar/Marion Post Wolcott

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

Library of Congress/Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

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

Library of Congress/Lange, Dorothea, photographer

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

wikimedia commons/Tennessee Valley Authority

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.

Library of Congress/Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer

Library of Congress/Collier, John, 1913-1992, photographer

Library of Congress/Lange, Dorothea, photographer

Library of Congress/Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

Library of Congress/Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer

Library of Congress/Evans, Walker, 1903-1975, photographer

Library of Congress/A. A. A. photo No. 5007W by Harmon

photogrammar/Marion Post Wolcott

wikimedia commons/Tennessee Valley Authority

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