Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Rural Life ⎯⎯⎯ Agricultural Economy
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
1. Rural Life Marker
Inscription.
Rural Life, also, Agricultural Economy. .
Rural Life. Despite the growth of cities and industry, until the 1940s most Alabamians lived on farms. In an economy where cotton was still king, merchants would extend credit only for that crop, leading to overproduction and low prices. Trapped in cycles of debt, many farm families, white and black, could not afford their own land. They worked the land of others, either paying rent or paying in shares of crops., Although farm life could be hard, rural Alabamians found strength in communities built around kinship and churches. Neighbors helped each other in times of need, and they arrived to celebrate during times of joy., In small towns throughout the state, farm families found access to news, supplies, and entertainment. Town folk included merchants, doctors, bankers, and craftsmen who provided services to area farmers and created their own tight-knit communities., After the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, eighty-six thousand Alabamians, mostly farm boys, left to fight in a distant war.,
Agricultural Economy. The persistence of farm life did not mean that change was absent from the lives of rural Alabamians. The early twentieth century brought challenges in the form of crop- destroying pests and new resources such as scientific agriculture and agribusiness., The boll weevil arrived in Alabama in 1910 and soon brought ruin to thousands of farmers by eating the buds of cotton plants. Crop losses in the 1910s reached 60 to 75 percent. Farmers adapted by diversifying their crops, and the peanut became king of southeast Alabama., Agricultural extension programs at Tuskegee Institute and Auburn served the state's farm families through training programs. George Washington Carver pioneered traveling extension work at Tuskegee with his Movable School. The Alabama initiatives influenced the creation of federally funded national programs for agricultural support in 1914., In October 1915, banker H. M. Sessions and farmer C. W. Baston inspected Coffee County's first peanut crop, which heralded a profound change in the economy of the Wiregrass.
Rural Life
Despite the growth of cities and industry, until the 1940s
most Alabamians lived on farms. In an economy where cotton
was still king, merchants would extend credit only for that
crop, leading to overproduction and low prices. Trapped in
cycles of debt, many farm families, white and black, could
not afford their own land. They worked the land of others,
either paying rent or paying in shares of crops.
Although farm life could be hard, rural Alabamians found
strength in communities built around kinship and churches.
Neighbors helped each other in times of need, and they arrived
to celebrate during times of joy.
In small towns throughout the state, farm families found
access to news, supplies, and entertainment. Town folk
included merchants, doctors, bankers, and craftsmen who
provided services to area farmers and created their own
tight-knit communities.
After the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, eighty-six
thousand Alabamians, mostly farm boys, left to fight in a
distant war.
Agricultural Economy
The persistence of farm life did not mean that change
was absent from the lives of rural Alabamians. The early
twentieth century brought challenges in the form of crop-
destroying pests and new resources such as scientific
agriculture
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and agribusiness.
The boll weevil arrived in Alabama in 1910 and soon brought
ruin to thousands of farmers by eating the buds of cotton
plants. Crop losses in the 1910s reached 60 to 75 percent.
Farmers adapted by diversifying their crops, and the peanut
became king of southeast Alabama.
Agricultural extension programs at Tuskegee Institute and
Auburn served the state's farm families through training
programs. George Washington Carver pioneered traveling
extension work at Tuskegee with his Movable School. The
Alabama initiatives influenced the creation of federally
funded national programs for agricultural support in 1914.
In October 1915, banker H. M. Sessions and farmer
C. W. Baston inspected Coffee County's first peanut crop,
which heralded a profound change in the economy of
the Wiregrass.
Erected 2019 by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Agriculture. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1917.
Location. 32° 22.644′ N, 86° 18.115′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is on Dexter Avenue east of Decatur Street when traveling east. Located in Alabama Bicentennial Park in front of the Alabama Attorney General's Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Dexter Ave, Montgomery AL 36130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
3. Marker with Alabama State Capitol building in background.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
4. Rural Life / Agricultural Economy Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 27, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 338 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 27, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
