Agriculture is an integral part of Arkansas’s culture, economy, and heritage. Early settlers harvested from the land's abundant timber and raised livestock. Settlers to the eastern half of the state contended with vast swamp and marshland, but through widespread efforts, swamps were drained and turned into fertile farmland. This gallery offers illustrates some of the toils and produce of Arkansas farming. Today, Arkansas remains an important supplier of rice, cotton, corn, beef, chicken, and dairy products.
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Ribbon cane syrup production
This is a black and white photograph showing ribbon cane syrup production in Nashville. On the right is a pile of cut sugarcane, and on the left is a shed for cooking the sugar. Two mules are waiting with a wagon in the center.
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Seeding rice near lonoke
This is a black and white photograph of three men in a tractor-pulled machine planting rice in a field near Lonoke.
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Strawberry pickers' camp, Bald Knob
This is a black and white photograph of a strawberry pickers' camp with tents, campers, and automobiles at Bald Knob.
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Strawberry trucks at railway loading platform, Bald Knob
This is a black and white photograph of trucks unloading crates of strawberries on a railway platform in Bald Knob.
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Brochure, "It's Apple Blossom Time"
This is a brochure about the apple orchards and apple industry in Northwest Arkansas.
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Cotton field at Lake Dick
This is a black and white photograph of an unidentified man working with a cultivator in a cotton field at the Lake Dick Farm Security Administration Project.
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Cotton gin near natural steps
This is a black and white photograph of a cotton gin near Natural Steps in Pulaski County.
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Cottonseed cake press, cottonseed oil mill in Rose City
This is a black and white photograph of two unidentified African American men working at a cottonseed cake press in the Rose City Cotton Oil Mill.
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Hulling cottonseed, cottonseed oil mill in Rose City
This is a black and white photograph of an unidentified African American man running a brush over a tray of seed to hull the cottonseeds in the Rose City Cotton Oil Mill.
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Men picking peaches in Summersweet orchard near Colt
This is a black and white photograph of several unidentified men picking peaches in Summersweet Orchard near Colt, on Crowley's Ridge.
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Sorghum mill at work, Fulton
This is a black and white photograph of a sorghum mill at Fulton. There are two mules hitched to a large wooden lever and walking in a circle to operate the mill. A man is sitting by the mill to feed the cane.
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Strawberry pickers in McRae
This is a black and white photograph of strawberry pickers in a field at McRae in White County.
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Women cleaning spinach at canning factory, Van Buren
This is a black and white photograph of women cleaning spinach at a canning factory in Van Buren. There is a large spinach spinner on the right side of the photo.
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Pamphlet, "Mississippi County, It's the Soil"
This is a pamphlet about favorable farming conditions of Mississippi County.
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Plowing a corn field
Black and white photograph of Richie and Joe Washam plowing a cornfield using a mule.
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Map, "Arkansas Farm Tenancy"
This is a map of farm tenancy in Arkansas from the Arkansas State Planning Board in 1930.
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Maps - "Corn, Cotton, and Rice in Arkansas"
This is a page of three small maps of Arkansas showing where corn, cotton, and rice were being grown in the state in 1930.
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Maps - "Peaches, Berries, and Apples in Arkansas"
This is a page of three small maps of Arkansas showing where peaches, berries, and apples were being grown in Arkansas in 1930.
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Application for order of sale, Howard v. Burchfield
This application for order of sale of perishable property is part of an ongoing lawsuit. The plaintiffs: Sarah W. Howard, John W. Howard, J.N. Howard, C.C. Howard, and P.T. Howard, are suing the defendant, W.M. Burchfield. The Howards allege that Burchfield rented fields from them to farm in 1925 and signed a contract to pay $1200 rent by January 1, 1926. In the suit, they state that the defendant failed to pay all but $100, so they put a lien on his crops. Instead of paying the Howards, Burchfield allegedly sold some of his crops, then skipped town. The application depicted here was approved and the crops sold for a total of $398.05.
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The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, 1924
Newspaper articles collected by The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tennessee, discussing Arkansas' success after the building of the Remmel Dam.
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Hog butchering
Black and white photograph of hogs being butchered. From left to right: workers, Adolph Bullock, Dewitt Clarence Williams, Sant Lunn (Mrs. Atkin's Father), and Bent Palmer, who lived in the house in the background. This photograph was taken on Highway 289 across from English Creek in Mammoth Spring.
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John Rosslott v. Greene and Lawrence Drainage District
John A. Rosslott owned land in Lawrence County that was assessed for taxes in 1912. He disputed the amount assessed and the court issued a decree for the new amount that Rosslott owed to the Drainage District. However, there was an error in the court's decree. In 1913, Rosslott filed this petition for an order of "nunc pro tunc" which is a Latin legal term that means "now for then" and would amend the previous court decree to include an additional tract of land that was missed. The money from these taxes went towards draining the Cache River and surrounding wetlands in order to maintain the ability to farm the land. Drainage districts were vital to keeping the swamps from reappearing.
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Letter, Charles Eichel to Swan Dowell
Letter with a business proposition sent from Ohio River Contractor Eichel Lime and Stone Company to Swan C. Dowell, principal administrator for the Village Creek Drainage Disctrict.
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Postcard, punny vegetables
This is an unused postcard complete with a funny, pun-filled poem. It uses vegetables for many clever plays on words.