Lewis Hine Photographed Yocona Cotton Mill

In May 1911, photographer Lewis Hine, working for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), photographed employees of the Yocona Cotton Mill in Water Valley, Mississippi.  (See my previous post, Yocona Cotton Mill - A Brief History.) 

Lewis Hine photograph showing Yocona Cotton Mill workers, including approximately eighteen children. (1)

Lewis Hine’s caption: “Nearly the entire force, Yocona Mills, Water Valley, Miss.  Some of the smallest workers not in photo.  The three smallest ones in front row hang around and help some.  Baby doesn’t work, – yet.  The rest are steady workers.” 

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Identifying Workers

The 1910 Yalobusha County census may help identify workers in the photograph.  The census record is very light and therefore difficult to read, but I believe I have deciphered the following family names: Bilbro (?), Dugard (?), Eubanks, McDowell (?), Mason, Morgan, Murphy, Phillips, Ray, and Sanders. According to the census, Mr. Charles E. Romberger was superintendent of the mill, Mr. Gore was assistant superintendent, and Joe A. Hamby (?) was foreman. 

The census also listed the following jobs: spinner, spooler, thread twister, doffer, ballwinder, and picker.

Note: If you can identify any of the people in the Lewis Hine photograph above, please post a comment below by clicking on the “comments” link.

 

Child Workers

Notice the row of children in front.  Despite their age, these children worked at the mill and they are the reason Lewis Hine came to Water Valley.  In 1908, the NCLC hired Lewis Hine to travel throughout the United States taking pictures of child workers in cotton mills, canneries, farms, and coal mines.  The NCLC used Hine’s photographs in magazine articles, newspapers, and traveling exhibits to increase public awareness of child labor and push for reform legislation.

 

More

Visit the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog, enter “Water Valley” in the search box, and click the Search button to view all five Lewis Hine photographs of the Yocona Cotton Mill.

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Sources:

 (1) Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/I?nclc:5:./temp/~pp_85AF::displayType=1:m856sd=nclc:m856sf=02107:@@@mdb=nclc. (accessed 29 Sep 2008).