Cotton Plant

The rain continued to fall as I headed further east. The farms and fields seem to have mostly been harvested, and the grasses and vegetation had already started turning an autumn-like golden hue. Along the way I passed by this old tractor, collecting rust beside a field.







And then down the road was this old farm building, surrounded by a wall of overgrown grass.





And then I made it to the small town of Cotton Plant. The town dates back to the 1840s, and there was even a small Civil War skirmish fought nearby. And as the town's name suggests, the town grew and prospered due to cotton. By the 1900s, Cotton Plant was home to several cotton gins, sawmills and factories. It was considered to be the "cultural center" of the area, with the town even having an opera house. Cotton Plant is best known now as the birthplace of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the "Godmother of Rock and Roll."

Like many Delta cities, Cotton Plant's population began to decline after the mechanization of farming meant fewer workers were needed to pick cotton. And in the 1960s, many white families left the town to avoid desegregating the schools. Cotton Plant peaked with a population of about 2,000 people in the 1950s. Today the population is around 500 people. And also like many other Delta cities, the town has struggled. Most of the old buildings on Main Street are abandoned and falling apart. The roof of one building, which used to be a store, has finally collapsed.



Here's the same spot, taken on a previous visit in 2019:



I wonder whatever happened to that dust-covered merchandise that had been sitting there on display?





And then a few other buildings in Cotton Plant:







It was time to start heading home, so I turned south towards the interstate. But before joining the slow traffic on I-40, I stopped by this old sharecroppers cabin. There must have been thousands of these old cabins across the Delta, but not too many of them are still standing.



I tried to get a few pictures while wiping raindrops off the lens.