-ad 101-

Mulberry Plantation Rice Field Worker Ditching in 1926: A Glimpse Into Lowcountry History

A glimpse into Lowcountry history through a 1926 photo of a rice field worker ditching in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Learn about Mulberry Plantation and the difficult and dangerous work completed by slave labor.
-ad 104-
Mulberry Plantation rice field worker ditching

Source: Lowcountry Digital Library

This is a photo from 1926 of a rice field worker ditching in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The Lowcountry Digital Library (which is awesome, by the way) gives some background on the particular plantation where this young man worked:

“Mulberry Plantation is believed to have received its name because of an early interest in raising silk, as worms that spin silk generally feed on Mulberry leaves. However, the plantation was more successful as a rice plantation. Rice was cultivated at Mulberry Plantation from colonial days until 1918. Rice cultivation was difficult and dangerous work completed by slave labor. Slaves would clear the land, chopping down all trees and stumps. They would then excavate canals to bring tidal waters into the field. Trunks, or dams, were constructed to drain the water from the field for sowing and flood it for cultivation. Rice seeds would be coated with clay before they were planted so they would not float away when the fields were flooded. After the rice was harvested, the grain was beaten from the stalk with flailing sticks. The rice was then milled and winnowed to separate the grain from the chaff.”

Recommended For You

4a16765a-1024x833.jpg
Statue of Liberty in 1905
4a12689a-1024x814.jpg
Take a Look at Brooklyn Bridge 110 Years Ago - Stunning Old Black and White Image
01949ua-973x1024.jpg
A Woman's Gaze: An Iconic Photo by Toni Frissell
8a15866u1-1024x682.jpg
An Intimate Look at a South Side Chicago Barber Shop in April 1941
3d01847v_0.jpg
Revisiting the Historic Meeting of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in 1964
eiffel-tower-1889-1024x825.jpg
A Look Back in Time: Exploring the Eiffel Tower in 1889
-ad 105-
-ad 103-

Featured Photos

jfkwhp-st-a41-1-61_a.jpg
A Rare Look at President John F. Kennedy Giving a Speech at the University of Washington in 1961
6c8378586-dwf15-596163.jpg
An Incredible Moment in American History: President Kennedy Meets President Clinton
8491494172_8636ebe849_o.jpg
A Rare Look at the Beatles: An Iconic Photo Taken by Richard Avedon in 1968
The confluence of the Irtysh and Tobol rivers in the Russian Empire. Photograpy by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, 1912.
A Look Back at the Russian Empire 100 Years Ago
Donald Trump 1950s
Take a Trip Down Memory Lane: Rare Photo of Young Donald Trump
The Library, University of Pennsylvania
A Look Back at the University of Pennsylvania Library in 1904
4a11598u-1024x819.jpg
The Imperial Hotel in Indianapolis - A Photo From Over 100 Years Ago
04857u-1024x685.jpg
Incredible Photo of Paris from 160 Years Ago - Click for Bigger Version
shorpy-8d26845a-1024x1020.jpg
Celebrating D-Day: An Incredible Color Photo of Times Square in 1943
6240529049_8899a885ea_o-1024x787.jpg
The Jaw-Dropping Story Behind a Crashed B-29 Superfortress on Iwo Jima

Get Your Daily Dose of History