This close-up of hands picking cotton was taken in Greenville, North Carolina in 1950.
For more images like this, visit the Joyner Library Digital Collections database or The Daily Reflector Image Collection.
Cotton played a significant role in North Carolina’s agricultural and industrial history. In the eighteenth century, settlers grew cotton to ship to Great Britain for manufacturing, but beginning in the early nineteenth century, the Piedmont region developed textile mills for production. The resulting textile industry transformed the state’s economy and survived through much of the twentieth century.
This research guide directs users to primary and secondary source materials about the North Carolina cotton industry. All materials can be found in Joyner Library’s North Carolina Collection or electronically.
Users of this research guide will be able to: