University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative
Exchange
Masters Theses
Graduate School
8-1990
A Study of Southern Black Landownership,
1865-1940: The Bridgeforth Family of Limestone
County, Alabama
Nancy Anne Carden
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Recommended Citation
Carden, Nancy Anne, "A Study of Southern Black Landownership, 1865-1940: The Bridgeforth Family of Limestone County,
Alabama. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1990.
http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2388
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been
accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information,
please contact [email protected].
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Nancy Anne Carden entitled "A Study of Southern Black
Landownership, 1865-1940: The Bridgeforth Family of Limestone County, Alabama." I have examined
the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in History.
Michael McDonald, Major Professor
We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance:
Cynthia Griggs Fleming, James Cobb
Accepted for the Council:
Dixie L. Thompson
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
To the Graduate Counc i l:
I am submitt ing herewith a the s i s wr itten by Nancy Anne
Carden ent i t l ed "A study of S outhern B l a ck Landownership ,
1 8 65- 1 9 4 0 :
The Bridgeforth Fam i ly of L imestone County ,
Al abama . " I have exam ined the f inal copy o f th i s thes i s for
f orm and content and recommend that i t be a cc epted in par­
t i a l ful f i l lment of the requ irements for the degree o f
Master o f Arts , with a maj or i n H i story .
We have read th i s the s i s
and recommend i t s acceptance:
c
'-··
,,
I
�(//
I
�·
Accepted for the Coun c i l:
Vice Provost
and Dean of The Graduate S chool
STATEMENT OF P ERMI S S ION TO USE
In present ing thi s thes i s i n part i a l ful f i l lment o f the
requ irements for a Master ' s d egree at the Univers i ty o f
Tennessee , Knoxvi l l e , I agree that the l i brary sha l l make i t
ava i l ab l e to borrowers under r u l e s of t h e L i brary .
Brief
quotat i on s from t h i s the s i s a r e a l l owable w i thout spec i a l
permi s s i on , provided that accurate acknow ledgment of the
s ource is made.
Perm i s s ion for extens ive quotat i on from or reproduct i on
o f th i s the s i s may be granted by my major profes sor , or in
h i s absence , by the Head of I nterl ibrary Services when ,
in
the op i n i on o f e i ther , the proposed use o f the mater i a l is
for scho larly purpos es .
Any copy i ng or use o f the mater i a l
i n th i s the s i s for f inanc i a l gain sha l l not b e a l l owed
without my wr itten permi s s i on .
/:
(�:kcL
A STUDY OF SOUTHERN BLACK LANDOWNERSHI P ,
1 8 65 - 1 9 4 0 :
THE BRIDGEFORTH FAMILY OF L IMESTONE
COUNTY , ALABAMA
A Thes i s
Pre sented for the
Master of Arts
Degree
The Un ivers ity of Tennessee , Knoxvi l l e
Nancy Anne Carden
August 1 9 9 0
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am i ndebted to the f i ne people who work at the Ten­
nessee Va l l ey Author ity Techn ical L ibrary , Tuskegee I n ­
stitute Arch ives , L imestone County Courthouse , a n d L imestone
County Arch ives for the ir a s s i stance i n my research.
I
wou ld part icu l arly l ike to thank Ph i l ip Reyer , L imestone
County Archivist , for mak ing va luable suggest i ons , as we l l
a s h i s pl ea sant manner , wh i ch made work i ng i n the archive a
del ight.
I would a l s o l ike to thank my committee , Professors
Cynth ia F l em ing and James Cobb for the i r helpful crit i c i sms
and comment s .
The d irector of my the s i s , Profes sor M i chael
McDona ld , encoura ged and supported my academ i c growth and
res earch beginning in my undergraduate years , and he con­
t i nues to be both mentor and f r i end.
Th i s the s i s would have been impos s i ble w ithout the co­
operation o f the Bridgeforth fami ly.
I am i ndebted to Dat i e
Russe l l , Wi l l i am Bridgeforth , and Darden Br idgeforth f o r so
grac i ously opening the ir l ive s and fam i ly h i story to my
s crut iny .
iii
ABSTRACT
When dea l ing with southern blacks a fter emanc ipat ion ,
h i stor ians have trad i t iona l ly f ocused on the p l i ght of those
freedmen who were unable to rea l i z e their aspirations of
becoming l andowners .
The major i ty of blacks were forced
i nto tenant f arm ing wh i ch ser i ou s ly l im ited the i r econom i c ,
po l it i ca l and social pos i t ion in the S outh for years to
come .
I n spite of the probl ems o f white res i stance to black
landownership , a lack of cred i t sources , and wh ite vio l ence
and rac i sm , 25 percent of southern black farmers d i d acqu ire
land by 1 9 1 0 .
Th i s study dea l s with one f am i ly of land­
owners in Limestone County , Al abama between 1 8 65 and 1 9 4 0 .
The acqu i s it i ons of the Br idgeforth f am i l y began with
George Bridgeforth , an ex- s l ave ,
i n the 1 8 7 0 s , and have
cont inued through the present with h i s grandson , Darden
Bridgeforth , one of the largest black farmers in Al abama.
Us i ng deed , mortgage , and tax records , th i s study shows how
the fam i ly i ncrea sed the ir holdings over the years.
One of the major factors i n the i r success was the role
o f George Ru f f i n Bridgeforth , who worked under the gu idance
o f Booker T . Wa shington at Tuskegee I nst i tute i n the early
1 9 0 0 s.
I n f luenced by Washington ' s ideas , Bridgeforth e s ­
tab l i shed an a l l bl ack community of l andholders i n Limestone
County i n 1 9 1 0.
The Beulahland commun ity thr i ved unt i l the
iv
early 1 9 3 0 s , when the Tennessee Va l l ey Author i ty ' s plan f or
the Wheeler Dam and Res ervo ir threatened i t s surviva l .
George Ruf f i n Bridgeforth began writing to the agency , and
the result ing correspondence provides ins i ght i nt o Bridge­
forth ' s ideology concern ing black landown ing .
It also
i l lustrates the tens ion that exi sted w i th i n the authority i n
part icular and the New D e a l in general regard ing the pos i ­
t i on of bl acks in a wh ite-dominated society .
I n sp ite of the Author i ty ' s lack of a s s i stance , Beu lah­
land and the Bridgeforth fam i ly cont i nued t o prosper .
At
the same t ime , the ir interaction w ith the federal government
prov ided them w ith the means to confront loca l government a l
pol i c i e s wh i ch d i scriminated agai nst b l a cks .
As a resu lt ,
i n the late 1 9 3 0 s , they increas ingly turned the i r attent ion
to i s sues such as bl ack voter regi strat ion and equ a l educa­
t i on a l opportun i t i es for blacks .
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
II .
III .
IV .
v.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
1
INITIAL ACQUI S ITION , 1 8 65 - 1 9 0 0
7
THE P EAK O F OWNERSHI P ,
19 00-19 2 0
BEULAHLAND AND THE NEW DEAL,
CONCLUS ION
192 0-19 4 0
21
37
57
B I BLIOGRAPHY
60
APPENDI X : RELEASE FORMS
67
VITA
71
1
CHAPTER I
I NTRODUCTION
For many years , the extent o f southern b lack landownership after the C ivi l War wa s e ither l argely i gnored or under
Except for w.
est imated.
the top i c
B.
DuBo i s , who began exp l or ing
in the early twent i eth century ,
before the 1 9 6 0 s ,
much
E.
l arger
most h i stor ians ,
focused on l and tenancy ,
proport ion
of
the
black
wh i ch invo lved a
rur a l
popu l a t i on.
Recent ly , however , s o c i a l and economic h i stor ians have g iven
the top i c more attent ion.
Many of the recent stud i es resul ted
from the real i z at i on that
s i nce
1900
" b l acks have
excess of 9 m i l l ion acres o f rur a l land. " 1
lost
in
Concerned with the
impl i cat i ons th i s tremendous lost of wea lth had , and wi l l cont i nue
to
have ,
searchers
on the
attempted
black population
to
ascert a i n why
of
some
the
south ,
s outhern
re-
blacks
a cqu ired land and others d i d not. 2
An add i t i ona l factor
top i c
has
been
the
in the
inf luence
increa s ed interest i n the
of
rev i s i o n i s t
and
post-
revi s i on i st h i stor ians , who , beginning i n the 1 9 6 0 s , shi fted
1
Leo McGee and Robert Boone , The B lack Rur a l Landowner-­
Endangered Spec ies : Socia l , P o l i t i ca l , and Econom i c Impl i ca t i ons
( Westport : Greenwood Press , 1 9 7 9) xvi i.
2 Inc luded in the se works wou l d be Leo McGee and Robert Boone ' s
The
B l ack
Rural
" B l ack
Farm
Landowner- -Endangered
Spec ies ,
Operators and Farm Popu l at i on , 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 7 0 : Al abama and Kentucky " by
A. Lee Coleman and Larry D. Hal l , " B lack Pol i t i c a l Power and the
Decl ine of B l ack Land Ownership " by W i l l iam E. Nel son , Jr. .
2
the focus o f the black role i n southern h i story from one of
be ing a cted upon to ways in wh ich bl acks survived i n spite of
the overwhelming rac i sm and violence against them .
these
a ccounts
focused
on
attempts
by
b l a cks
Many o f
a fter
eman-
c ipat i on to control the i r own dest iny for " bl a cks ' quest for
econom i c i ndependence . . . rema ined centra l to the black commun ity ' s ef forts to define the meaning of freedom . " 3
Sever a l
works
by
econom i c
h i stor ians
have
focused
on
l andownersh ip of bl acks in the be l i ef that the 25 percent of
bl acks who acqui red l and by 1 9 1 0 ,
f act ors work ing aga inst them ,
in spite o f the numerous
is h ighly s ign i f i cant .
Using
tax and census data, these accounts attempt to quant itat ively
determine wh i ch part i cular f actors a ided and h indered l and
a cqu i s it i on . 4
Wh i l e these wr i ters d i s agree on the extent to
which cert a i n factors , such as black proport ion o f popu l at i on
3 Er i c Foner , " Reconstruct ion Revi s ited , " Reviews i n Amer ican
H i s tory ( Ba lt imore : Johns Hopk ins UP , 1 9 8 2 } 8 3 . Inc luded in these
accounts are Rehearsal for Reconstruct ion by Wi l l i e Lee Rose , Joe l
Willi amson ' s After Slavery: The Negro i n S outh carol i na Dur ing
Reconstruction , 18 6 1 - 1 8 7 7 , Janet Sharp Hermann ' s The Pursu i t o f a
Dream , Exodusters : B l ack Migration to Kansas After Reconstruct ion
by Ne l l Painter , and "The Po l it ic s of B la ck Land Tenure " by Mann i ng
Marab l e .
4 Among these works are One K ind of Freedom : The Econom i c
Consequences o f Emancipation by Roger L . Ransom and R ichard Sut ch ,
" Accumulat i on of Property by Southern B l acks before Wor l d War I " by
Robert Higgs , " Accumulat ion of Property by S outhern B lacks before
Wor ld War I : Comment and Further Evi dence " by Robert A . Margo ,
" Negro Farm ownersh ip in the S outh " and " Rur a l Ownership o f Land by
B l acks in Georg i a : 1 9 2 0 and 1 9 6 0 11 both by James s. F i sher , and
Gavin Wr i ght ' s Old South, New South .
3
and the surviva l of the p l antat i on economy i n a par t i cular
area ,
inf luenced
bl ack
acqu i s i t ion ,
conclus i on s they share i n common.
there
are
s eve r a l
First , a l l agree that the
in the years immediately f o l low ing the C ivi l War ,
acqu i r ing
l and was part i cu l arly d i f f i cu l t for freedman due to a tota l
l ack o f resources and estab l i shed cred i t , and wh i l e there were
many communa l e f forts to acqu ire l and dur ing th i s t ime ,
the
major ity of ownership carne about through individua l effort of
d irect purchases of land .
Except for Ransom and Sutch ,
all
have conc luded that there were s igni f i cant i ncreases i n the
black purchases of l and a fter 1 8 8 0, and that the peak o f l and
ownership carne between 1 9 1 0 and 1 9 2 0 .
Most o f the se authors tend to agree that ,
i n order to
obta in l and dur ing th i s per i od , blacks had to prove themse lves
a cceptable to the wh ite commun ity , and , that wh i l e the numbers
of b lack owners cont inued to grow , the i r hold i ngs tended to be
" of sma l l s i z e and on infer i or s o i l . " 5
Mann i ng
Marable ,
on
the other hand , empha s i z e s factors that these authors ignore .
He attr ibutes the increase to a r i se i n the number of black
owned
banks ,
and
hence
cred i t
source s ,
increas i ng
black
l iteracy , and the deve l opment of black i nte l l ectua l thought of
the per i od whi ch saw black l andownership a s the " only hope for
5 Gavin Wr ight , Old South , New South : Revo lut i on in the
S outhern Economy S ince the Civi l War ( New York : B a s i c , 1 9 8 6) 1 0 4 .
4
the sa lvat ion" o f the race. 6
Th i s ideol ogy led to the growth
of agr i cu l tura l colleges , and , as a result ,
" w i th i n a s ingle
genera t i on , thousands of young b l ack men were trained i n the
agr i cu l tur a l s c i ences. " 7
Marable and other authors bel ieve
that the des ire for land was so great that it overshadowed the
threats of white violence against b lack acqu i s i t i on , w i th some
b l acks movi ng i nto areas w i th a " h i story of lynch ings and mob
violence , so long as land could be purchased at low pr i ces. " 8
In
the
1870s ,
George
Br i dge forth ,
an
ex- s l ave ,
purchas ing l and in Limestone County , Al abama.
began
By the 1 9 8 0 s ,
h i s grand son was one o f the largest black f armers i n Alabama.
"A
S tudy
of
Southern B l ack Landownership ,
1 8 65- 1 9 4 0 :
The
Br idgeforth Fam i ly of Limestone County , Al abama , " w i l l show
how the f ami ly accumulated property.
f it i nto the above patterns?
How do the Br i dgeforths
Most o f the ir wea lth was accumu-
lated in the peak per iod between 1 8 8 0 a nd 1 9 2 0 ,
a nd before
1 8 8 0 and a fter 1 9 2 0 , there was few add i t i on s t o their holdi ngs.
George
Br idgeforth ' s
purchases
before
1900
were
dependent on the a s s i stance , and therefore appova l , o f James
Br idgeforth and other whites in the commun i ty.
Beginning w i th
6 Mann i ng Marable ,
" The P o l i t i c s o f B la ck Land Tenure ,
1 9 15 , " Agr i cu ltura l H i story 5 3 { 1 9 7 9) : 1 4 2 - 152.
1877-
7 Marab l e 1 4 6.
8 August Me ier and E l l i ott Rudw i ck , From P l antat i on to Ghetto
( New York : H i l l , 1 9 7 6) 2 3 3.
5
George Ruf fin Bridge forth , however , the fami ly ' s acquisition
of
property
came
about
as
a
result
Tuskegee a n d B ooker T. Washington.
of
the
inf luence
of
Whi l e the number of black
l andowners and ho ldings decreased a fter 1 9 2 0 , they withstood
the economic pres sures of these times , and managed t o retain
Another way in which they did not f o l l ow the
their l and.
Whi l e
typical pattern was in the amount of l and they owned.
the
maj ority
of
black
landholdings
remained
margina l
and
sma l l er than those of whites , the Bridge f orths control l ed more
acreage than did the maj ority of white l andowners in Limestone
County.
Additiona l factors began to p l ay an important role in the
continuation of the family ' s economic we l l -being in the 1 9 3 0 s.
They were content to live their lives separate and apart from
the white community unti l their live lihood was threatened.
As
it became evident that , in spite o f their economic succe s s ,
the f ami ly was not being treated equa l ly by the loca l , white­
contro l l ed
feder a l
Soi l
Conservation
government
for
agency ,
a s sistance.
they
For
turned
the
to
first
the
time ,
members o f the family began to speak out against inequ a lity ,
u s ing the Tennessee Va l l ey Authority ( TVA) a s the intermediary
in their rel ationship with the white community.
Whi le their
a ctions brought no assistance from TVA , having once confronted
racist po licies wou ld make it easier t o do s o in the future.
The interaction between the community and TVA ref lects the
6
ambiva l ence w i th i n the agency toward blacks , and revea l s the
l imitat i ons
of
New Dea l
po l i c i es
as
they were
appl i ed
to
blacks in the repress ive atmosphere of the S outh i n the 1 9 3 0 s .
Wh i le the Bridgeforths were not the typ i c a l b lack s outhern
f am i ly in the years 1 8 65 to 1 9 4 0 , the story of the ir strugg l e
to control spec i f i c aspects of the ir l ives
one.
i s an important
7
CHAPTER I I
INITIAL ACQUI S ITION , 1 8 65- 1 9 0 0
I n the forty years preced ing the C iv i l War ,
the newly
formed state o f Al abama grew tremendous ly as p i oneers came to
take over the " l ast great Indian hunt i ng ground east o f the
Miss i s s ipp i .
"9
The
vast
major ity
sett led o n sma l l tracts o f land,
became s e l f-suf f ic ient farmers .
of
thes e
new
arr iva l s
bui lt rude log cabins ,
and
The r i ch r iver bottoms were
c la imed by wea lthier s l aveho lders able to a f f ord the $5 0 - $ 1 0 0
per acre for pr ime cotton land o n the Tennessee ,
and Al abama r ivers,
Tombigbee ,
leaving the less expens ive h i l l country
for the major ity of these recent migrant s . 1 0
Bounded on the north by the Tennessee state l ine and on
the south by the Tenne ssee R iver ,
Limestone County,
in the
northern h i l l country, became the dest inat ion o f many migrants
from
the
south-central
count ies
of
Tennessee . 11
popu l a t ion of the county grew from about 1 0 , 0 0 0
9 Virg i n i a Van der Veer Hami lton ,
H i story ( New York : Norton, 1 9 7 7) 3 .
Al abama ;
A
The
in 1 8 2 0 to
B i centenn i a l
10 Charles S . Dav i s, The Cotton Kingdom i n Alabama ( Ph i lade l ­
ph i a : Porcup ine Press, 1 9 7 4) 2 8 .
1 1 Dav i s 2 2.
8
a lmost
1 6 , 50 0
county ,
Va l l ey
in
1850 . 1 2
Wh i l e
the
southern
part
of
the
conta in i ng the more fert i l e and expens ive Tennessee
cotton
l ands ,
was
dominated
by
l arge
s l aveho lding
operat ions , sma l l er s l aveho lders and yeomen tended to sett l e
i n the northern part of the county.
northern
reg ion
was
the
h igh lands of Tennessee . 13
the Barrens ,
C a l l ed the Barren s , th i s
extens ion
into
A labama
Despite the i r name ,
of
the
areas w ithin
espec i a l ly the river hi l l s surround ing the Elk
River , were quite conduc ive to agr i cu l ture.
I n some p l aces
the E lk R iver f l owed through a three to four m i l e w ide ba s in
wh i ch was bordered on each s ide by c l i f f s.
The steep , fert i l e
h i l l s wh i ch dotted the ba s i n were "much des i red a s farm i ng
l ands , notw ithstanding the natura l d i sadvantages to whi ch they
were subject.
" 14
James W. Bridgeforth , a s l aveho lder and farmer from G i l e s
County , Tennessee w a s one of these sett l er s.
I n 1 8 55 , after
the death of h i s w i fe , Bridgeforth moved to L imestone County ,
sett l ing on a " sma l l r i s e over l ooking the Sugar Creek bottom
l ands. " 1 5
2
U. S. Census Off ice , Seventh Census : Popu l a t i on ( Washington :
1 853 ) 1 9 4 .
1
GPO ,
The house he bu i lt i n no way resembl ed the man s i ons
13 U.
s. Census O f f i ce , Report on Cotton Product i on
Un ited States ( Washington: GPO , 1 8 8 4 ) 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 .
w
in the
Report on Cotton Product i on 1 0 4 .
15 Chr i s t ine Edwards and Faye Axf ord,
Lure and Lore of L ime­
stone County ( Tuscaloosa: Port a l s Press , 1 9 7 8 ) 1 4 0 .
9
of
the
l arge
c l apboard
cabins
structure
f avored
Al abama . 1 6
owned ,
of
antebel l um
by
was
planters .
only
many
several
front i er
s imp l e
steps
two-story
above
f am i l i es
in
the
l og
northern
Whi l e it is not known how much l and Br idgeforth
it is poss ible , us ing s l ave ownersh ip as an indi cator
wea lth ,
to
determine
that
he
prosperous farmers in the county . 9
14
The
adu lt
s laves
and
17
under
became
one
of
the
more
By 1 8 6 0 , Br idgeforth owned
1 6 years
old . 1 0
In
the
same
year , out of the 6 6 6 s l aveho lders in Limestone County , only 8 1
owned more than 3 0 s l aves . 1 1
As
in
other
northern
Alabama
count ies
in
the
years
preced ing the C iv i l War , ten s i ons ran h i gh in L imestone County
The county was
when t a lk turned to the i ssue of seces s i on .
sharp ly d ivi ded between the l arger p l anters ,
who tended to
favor seces s ion , and the rest o f the county ' s popu l at i on , who
supported
s ixteen
the
" c o-opera t i on i s t "
count i e s .
In
January
of
view
of
1861 ,
the
when
surround i ng
the
northern
count i es sent de legates to the state convent ion to " urge the
1 6 Edwards and Axf ord 1 4 0 .
9 Gavin Wr ight , Old South , New S outh ( New Y ork : B a s i c ,
1 9 8 6) 1 9 . As Wr i ght and other authors have shown , the ma j or ity
o f wea lth held by sl aveholders was in s l aves , not property .
1 0 U. s . Census O f f ice , Manuscr ipt S l ave Census for 1 8 6 0
(Wash i ngton : GPO , 1 8 6 4 ) P leasant Grove , Beat # 7 .
1 1 u. s .
1 8 64) 2 2 3 .
Census O f f i c e ,
E ighth Census
( Wash ington :
GPO ,
10
more caut i ous course o f concerted act ion w i th other S outhern
states , " many of the del egates refused to s i gn the ord inance
of secess i on . 1 2
The secess ionist W i l l i am Lowndes Yancey wa s
burned i n e f f i gy in Limestone County , and , even a f ter Alabama
voted
to
secede ,
" the
United
States
f l ag
st i l l
f l ew
over
courthouses in Athens and Huntsvi l le . " 1 3
Although i t i s unknown where James w . Bridge f orth stood
on the i s sue of secess ion , be ing one of the larger planters ,
he ,
in a l l probab i l ity ,
f l ict
started ,
supported secess ion .
he apparent ly ,
l ike many
of
Once the conhis
n e i ghbors ,
supported the Confederacy . At least one son , James w . Bridgeforth , Jr . , served with the 3 2 nd Tennessee Infantry dur ing the
war.14
Un l ike other areas o f Alabama ,
the northern count ies
experi enced a great dea l of f i ghting and much o f the area was
deva stated
as
a
resu lt
of
the
two
arm i e s
contest i ng
the
land . 1 5
In
the
s l aves
chaos
immed i ately
faced many problems
wou l d they l ive?
their fam i l i es?
f o l low i ng the C i v i l War ,
regard ing the i r
futur e .
exWhere
How wou ld they provide for themselves and
What opportun i t i es ,
if any ,
did the future
1 2 Hami lton 2 4 .
13 Hami lton 2 4- 2 5 .
M
Edwards and Axford 1 4 0 .
1 5 Peter Kolchi n ,
Press , 1 9 7 2 ) 3 .
First
Freedom
( Westport :
Greenwood
11
hold for them?
one .
For some ex-s laves , the cho i c e was a s imp l e
Free for the f irst t ime in the ir l ive s , they immed iately
took to the road , moving i nto urban areas or the B l ack Belt
count ies
where
the i r
labor wa s
i n demand .
Many
chose
to
r ema in i n the i r horne count i e s , but moved to p l anta t i on s where
St i l l others cont i nued
they wou ld receive better treatment .
to work
for
former masters .16
the ir
Tenne ssee Va l l ey left .
Many
freedmen
i n the
The black popu l a t i on o f the region
f e l l by 1 7 .2 percent i n the per i od from 1 8 6 0 to 1 8 6 6 ,
between
1866
Tennessee
and
187 0 ,
wh i l e
Va l l ey
began
to
other
gain
count i e s
back
in
b l ack
and ,
the
the
popu l a t i on ,
Limestone County dropped another 3.4 percent . 1 7
George
Bridgeforth ,
Bridgeforth p l antat ion ,
with his ex-master .
a
young
ma l e
help ing
run
on
the
James
was one of these who chose to stay
Born in Tennessee in 1 8 3 8 , George carne to
Limestone County with James in 1 8 55.1 8
not
s l ave
the
p l antat i on ,
Dur i ng the war , when
George
s erved
as
James
Bridgeforth , Jr . ' s persona l servant in the Con federate Arrny . 1 9
At the end o f the war , a s George ' s grandson recal l s , he was
g iven two opt ions by h i s master :
16 Kolchin 2 2 - 2 3 .
1 7 Kolch in ,
1 4 - 15.
1 8 Manuscr ipt S l ave Census , P leasant Grove Beat #7 .
1 9 Edwards and Axford 1 4 0 , and
persona l interview , December , 1 9 8 3 .
Wi l l i am
B r i dgeforth ,
12
He s a i d , ' George , you ' re free . ' My grandfather had
never heard the word free , didn ' t know what i t meant .
' I ' m not your master anymore , you ' re not my s l ave , you ' re
free to do whatever you want to do .
I f you want me to ,
I ' l l g ive you $ 1 0 0 and you can go anywhere e l s e and work
or you can stay here with me and I ' l l pay you $ 1 0 a month
My grandfather s a i d let
and give you room and board . '
him s l eep on it .
S o the next morning he got up and told
h im he ' d stay . 20
George ' s dec i s i on t o stay was probably based on severa l
factors .
I n 1 8 62 ,
he had mar r i ed Jenn i e ,
neighbor ing Andrews pl antat ion ,
f ami ly . 21
In
addition ,
a s l ave from the
and they had started the i r
George ' s
asp i rat i on
to
become
an
independent landowner was probably a cons iderat ion i n his dec i s i on to rema in i n the area where he had f am i l y a nd community
George shared the desire to own land w ith many other
t i es .
fre edmen.
Living
in an agr i cu ltural economy ,
that his economic
land . " 22
" the ex-s lave
f elt
independence requi red the acqu i s it ion o f
A s i t became apparent ,
fol lowing t h e war , that the
federa l government wou ld not provide l and , those freemen who
sought to become landowners found three ma j or stumb l ing b l ocks
in the i r path :
a lack of resource s ,
an inab i l ity to obt a i n
20 W i l l i am Bridgef orth , persona l interv i ew , December 1 9 8 3 .
21
U . s. Census Off ice , Manuscr ipt Census Limestone
County , Al abama ( Washington : GPO , 1 9 02 ) P l easant Grove Beat
#7 , 3 .
22 Roger L . Ransom and Ri chard Sutch , One Kind of Freedom
( Cambr idge : Cambr idge UP , 1 9 7 7 ) 8 1 .
13
cred i t ,
and wh ite r e s i stance t o black
l andownersh ip . 23
In
s p i t e o f the se obstacles a sma l l number o f freedmen acqu i red
land in the years immediately f o l l owing the war .
I n Al abama ,
the acc ident o f geography often p l ayed a key factor a s "the
propor t i on of bl acks own ing l and var ied invers e ly with the
qua l ity o f l and and the number o f b lacks in the popu l a t i on . "M
I n other words ,
George Bridge forth ,
l iving i n the northern
part of L imestone County , an area where " l and was relat ively
cheap , Negroes few ,
and black labor not heavi ly i n demand , "
stood a better chance o f fu l f i l l i ng the dream o f l andownership
than d i d freedman in the B l ack Belt o f Alabama. 25
Although it is not known exactly when George purchased
h i s f i rst acreage , he was pay ing rea l estate taxes by 1 8 7 7 ,
apparent ly on a forty- acre tract.M
fact
that
the
1 8 7 0 s were
a
lean
Th i s was i n sp i te o f the
per i od
in
S outhern
agr i -
culture , and that the pr ice o f cotton had f a l len by near ly 5 0
percent between 1 8 72 and 1 8 7 9 . n
Whi l e other b l a ck and wh ite
yeomen found themse lves driven i nto the ranks o f sharecroppers
23 Ransom and Sutch
81.
24 Kolch i n 1 3 6 .
25 Kolchin 1 3 6 .
M L imestone County , Alabama , Tax Abstract { 1 8 7 7 ) P leasant
Grove Beat #7 .
27 Er i c Foner ,
Reconstruct i on :
Ame r i ca ' s
Business ( New York : Harper , 1 9 8 8 ) 5 3 5 .
Unf i n i shed
14
and laborers , George increased h i s holdings . 2 8 I n 1 8 8 0 , George
sold the f orty-acre tract for $ 3 3 0 , us ing the money as a down
payment
on
an
e i ghty-acre
George B r i dgeforth ,
tract
cost ing
$ 7 5 0 . 29
How
was
an ex- s l ave start ing w i th no resources ,
able to accomp l i sh th i s feat?
In sp ite of having geography in h i s f avor , the prob l ems
of obt a i n ing money and cred it and overcomi ng wh ite r e s i stance
st i l l rema ined .
him at the
Whi l e the $ 1 0 a month i n wages James o f fered
end of the war was not a
f i fteen years ,
lot o f money ,
" g iven
one m ight expect that even blacks who began
freedom comp l etely destitute wou l d have managed to accumu l at e
the means
necess ary f o r the purchase
of
l and .
"30
As sum ing
George ra i s ed the money by hard work and thr i ft ,
he s t i l l
fa ced
of
the
l arger
and
more
threatening
r e s i stance to black landownership .
prob l em
wh ite
As h i s grandson reca l l s ,
George turned to h i s ex-ma ster for a s s i stance :
2 8 Foner 5 3 7 .
� L imestone County , Al abama , Deed Record , Book 2 0 ( 1 8 8 0 )
3 5 6 and Deed Record , Book 6 5 ( 1 8 8 0 ) 4 6 .
� Ransom and Sutch 8 3 .
15
S o he stayed there and he never rea l ly went out and
negoti ated for a farm e i ther .
He ' d work and made the
money , t e l l his master ' There ' s a n o l d farm over there ,
S o they started
wi l l you see what you can do for me? '
with th i s twenty acres , add a nother f orty or s ixty or one
hundred , and another forty , s i xty , or one hundred--must
have been over a per i od o f thirty year s . 31
Both George and James Br idgeforth took r i sks with thes e
purchases o f land .
began
expre ss ing
I mmed i ately after the war ,
the i r
oppos it i on
to
b l ack
many whites
l andownership .
Fear ing an independent black popu l a t i on out of contro l ,
some
states enacted b l ack codes wh ich den i ed b l acks th i s r i ght .
Although the se l aws were struck down by Rad ica l Reconstruct ion
government s ,
v i o l ent .
swept
I n the wave of wh ite v i o lence aga inst b l acks which
the
targets
between 1 8 6 8 and 1 8 72 , wh ite oppo s i t ion turned
region
was
during
" those
Equa l ly
success . " 32
who
at
th i s
per i od ,
ach i eved
a
one
of
mod icum
r i sk were wh ites
who
the
of
economic
sold
blacks or l oaned them money for l and purchas e s for
pr imary
l and
to
" they were
not uncommonly threatened with phy s ica l v i o l ence . 11 33
How real was the threat of v i o lence for George and James
Br idgeforth?
K lux K l an ,
County .
31
Pu lask i , Tennessee ,
the b i rthp l ace of the Ku
l ay j ust over the Tennesse
Dur i ng the C iv i l War ,
Wi l l i am
Bridgeforth ,
1983 .
32 Foner 2 9 .
33 Ransom and Sutch 8 6 .
l ine
from Limestone
Nathan Bedford Forrest ,
persona l
i nterv i ew ,
the
December ,
16
founder o f the Ku Klux Klan ,
numerous occa s i on .
s econd
national
f ought i n and around Athens on
After the K l an supposedly organi z ed i t s
K l avern
in
Athens ,
one
eyewitness
of
the
per i od r eca lled v i ewing " a parade of K l ansmen r iding s ing l e
f i l e that stretched from .
Pryor home
.
. E lm Street to the former Luke
f u l ly a m i l e
in
l ength .
1134
The Klan was
o f f ic i ally broken up in 1 8 7 1 , and , a l though George and James
Bridgeforth may
them ,
never have experieced
d irect contact
the deeds of the Klan dur ing those years
w i th
" etched the
K l an permanent ly in the folk memory of the b l ack commun i ty . " 35
I n spite of these threats , Br idgeforth and other freedmen
did
acqu ire
l and ,
and
southerners had become
by
188 0 ,
9.8
percent
independent l andowner s . 36
were able to ach ieve th i s dream had pa id a pr ice ,
of
b l ack
Thos e who
however .
They were forced to turn to the wh ite community 'for support ,
and i n the proce ss had to appear " nonthreaten i ng and we l l ­
behaved .
"37
I n other words , t o get ahead dur i ng th i s t ime ,
34 Robert Henry Wa lker , Jr . , H i story of L imestone County ,
Al abama ( n . p . : L imestone County Comm i s s ion and Robert Henry
Wa lker , Jr . , 1 9 7 3 ) 1 3 6 .
35 Foner 4 4 3 .
� Ransom and Sutch 8 3 .
37
Wr i ght 1 0 7 .
17
rur a l b l acks had t o "compromise the i r autonomy i n order to
gain it .
1138
Despite the near co l l apse o f the southern agr icultura l
economy
a fter
r e s i stance
the
to
Panic
black
of
189 3 ,
ownersh ip ,
and
the cont i nued white
number
the
of
l andowners
cont inued to r i se dur ing the l atter years o f the n ineteenth
century . 39
By
another
acres for $ 1 0 0 0 . � S omet ime before 1 9 1 0 ,
93
1 8 85 ,
Bridge forth
saved
enough
to
purchase
Br idge-
f orth purcha sed another 1 3 0 acres , bring i ng h i s tot a l hold ings
to 3 0 3 acre s ,
and
mak i ng
a l l in the Sugar Creek area on the E lk River ,
him
the
largest
black
l andowner
in
L imestone
County . 41
In
order
necessary to
farmer w a s he?
to
understand
l ook a t h i s
Bridge forth ' s
farming operat ion .
succes s ,
it
is
What k ind o f
How did he operate from o n e y e a r to the next?
These ques t i ons are d i f f icult to answer , for Bridgeforth , l ike
most f armers of the per i od ,
poss i b l e ,
however ,
us ing
left no wr i tten r ecords .
crop- l ien
records
f ound
It is
in
the
Limestone County Courthouse , to p i ece together a rough sketch
38
Wr ight 1 0 7 .
39 Jame s s. F i sher , " Negro Farm Ownersh ip , " Ann a l s o f the
Assoc . of Amer ican Geographers 63 ( 1 9 7 3) : 485 .
� Deed Record , Book 65 ( 1 8 85) 48 .
4 1 Deed Record , Book 1 3 2 ( 1 9 14) 6 0 9 , and U . S . Census
O f f ice , Negroes in the Un ited States : Bu l l et i n 1 2 9 (Washing­
ton : GPO , 1 9 15) 1 6 0 .
18
Wh i l e the most preva l ent arrangements i n
o f h i s opera t i on .
the S outh dur ing the per i od were sharecropp i ng a n d tenantfarming ,
crop- l i ens were an a lternative for the
landowner .
Under thi s system a l andowner borrowed money f rom a merchant
to make h i s crop and repa i d the debt a fter the harvest .
secur i ty ,
he put up h i s crop and " any other property
such
a
as
mu l e . "�
The
f irst
crop- l i ens
I n 1 8 75 ,
Bridgeforth ' s name i n the 1 8 7 0 s .
As
.
appeared
in
he borrowed $ 3 3
from a Robert Patr ick , and in 1 8 7 8 , Wi lkinson & West , a l oc a l
cotton g i n ,
l oaned h im $ 1 1 . �
I n the 1 8 8 0 s , the amounts Bridgef orth borrowed i ncreas ed .
Twice he borrowed $50 from a Henry Warten . «
of cred i t ,
Beas ley .
r e l i g i on
however ,
H i s maj or source
wa s a l oca l merchant and g i n owner ,
H.
( A story told by C . Eric Linco l n , Duke profes sor o f
and
h i story ,
who
grew
up
in
L imestone
County ,
i l lustrates the pos s i b l e wh ite host i l i ty Br idgeforth f aced i n
dea l ing
with
his
wh ite
cred itors ,
espec i a l ly
the
Beas l ey
fami ly .
After L i ncoln and h i s grandmother worked s evera l days
p ick ing cotton for Bea s l ey , he approached the merchant to get
h i s pay ,
which L i nco l n c a lculated at
$3 . 6 0 .
When B ea s l ey
� G i l bert C . Fite , Cotton Fie lds No More ( Lexington : The
UP of Kentucky , 1 9 84) 5 .
� L imestone County , A labama , Mortgage Record , Book
( 1 8 75) 4 8 -4 9 , and Mortgage Record , Book 1 8 ( 1 8 7 8) 457 .
«
Mortqaqe Record , Book
Record , Book 3 1 ( 1 8 8 7) 2 04 .
30
( 1 8 8 6) 2 25 ,
16
and Mortgage
19
f l ipped h im a quarter , L i nco l n questioned the amount .
As a
result , Beas l ey s everely beat the 1 3 -year-o l d , and warned h im
to never aga i n " try to count ' round no wh ite man . ")45
The co l l ateral for these l oans supply another source o f
in formation about Bridgeforth ' s opera t i on .
For one thing , an
i ncrease i n the amount o f l ivestock owned shows that B ridgeforth ' s operat ion prospered .
I n 1 8 75 , he only had a " one-eyed
sorr e l mare " for co l l atera l , but by 1 8 8 2 , he used " a bay mare
Me l l ey , bay mare S a l l ey ,
1 red cow and ca l f , one sow and s ix
shoats and h i s ent ire wheat , corn , cotton crop and a l l other
produce r a i sed .
"46
By 1 8 8 7 , George not only grew crops on h i s
own l and , but rented addit i ona l acreage as we l l .
For the $ 1 15
he borrowed from Beasley that year , he put up a s c o l later a l " 2
mares ,
cow ,
1 co l t ,
10 hogs ,
1 heffer ( s ic) ,
1 wh ite cow and ca l f ,
entire crop of corn and cotton r a i sed by me on
my p l ace and e l s ewhere in Limestone County , Al abama .
The
crop
another
l i ens
a l so
show
that
B r i dgeforth
1147
was
go ing
aga inst the trends of S outhern agr iculture a t the t ime . Those
who rented l and or worked on shares were often forced to put
more and more of the ir acreage into cotton .
Even f armers who
45
Keith L . Thomas , " Past Imperfect , " The At l anta Con­
st itut ion 13 Mar . 1 9 8 8: 1H .
46
Mortgage Record , Book 1 6
Record , Book 2 3 ( 1 8 8 1 - 1 8 8 3 ) 6 1 1 .
( 1 8 75) 4 8 - 4 9 ,
� Mortgage Record , Book 3 1 ( 1 8 8 7) 5 6 3 .
and Mortgage
20
owned the i r l and began ra i s ing more cotton at the expense o f
foodstu f f s ,
suf f ic i ent . �
and ,
as
a
result ,
Br idge forth ,
w i th
they
became
enough
l and
less
to
selfprov ide
gra z i ng for l ivestock , wa s able to withstand th i s pressure .
I nstead
of
becoming
i ndebted
to
l oca l
merchant s
he
i ncrea s i ngly moved toward greater s e l f - su f f ic i ency and hence
independence .
with no
George Br idgeforth ,
resources
starting a s a n ex- s l ave
and everyth i ng work i ng
aga inst h im ,
had
found a way to not only survive the rac i a l prej ud ice o f the
S outh , but to actua l ly prosper in spite of h i s environment .
� F ite 8 9 - 9 0 .
21
CHAPTER I I I
THE PEAK O F OWNERSHI P ,
1 9 0 0 - 19 2 0
Between 1 9 0 0 and 1 9 2 0 , the number o f southern b l ack
landowners cont i nued to r i s e , reaching i t s peak between 1 9 1 0
and 1 9 2 0 .
Nati onwide , the peak occurred i n 1 9 1 0 , with
2 18 , 4 6 7 owners , comp r i s ing 2 4 percent o f a l l b l ack farm
operators , contro l l i ng 15 . 7 m i l l i on acres . 1
In A labama , the
numbers cont i nued to r i s e between 1 9 1 0 and 1 9 2 0 .
In 1 9 1 0 ,
the number o f bl ack owners was 1 7 , 0 8 2 or 15 . 5 percent o f a l l
f arm owners .
By 1 9 2 0 , b l acks compr i sed 1 8 . 1 percent o f a l l
farm owners and the numbers had r i sen s l i ghty t o 1 7 , 2 0 2 . 2
L imestone County a l so f o l lwed thi s trend w i th the number o f
bl ack owners i ncreas ing from 2 3 6 i n 1 9 1 0 to 3 05 i n 1 9 2 0 . 3
Beginning i n 1 9 2 0 , when the " rea l pr ice o f cotton p l ummeted
6 0% , " the number of owners gradua l ly dec l i ned due to con-
1 F i t e 2 1 and
F i sher 485 .
2 U . s . Census Off ice , Census of Agr icu lture ( Washing­
ton : GPO 1 9 2 2 ) 4 8 0 .
3 U . s . Census O f f ice , Negro Popu l a t i on : 1 7 9 0 - 1 9 15
( Washington : GPO , 1 9 1 8) 7 0 1 and Census of Agr icu l ture , 1 9 2 0
492 .
22
t inu i ng low cotton pr i ces , the impact o f the bo l l weev i l ,
and i ncreased vio lence against blacks . 4
I n add i t ion to f avorable econom i c factors , th i s i n crease in bl ack ownership between 1 9 0 0 a n d 1 9 2 0 wa s i n f luenced by the admoni shments o f S outhern b l a ck leaders o f
the per i od .
After the ear l i er promi ses o f Reconstruct ion
were l a i d t o rest , black l eaders sh ifted the i r empha s i s from
pol i t i c a l to economic equa l ity ,
i n the be l i e f that s e l f -
help , thr i ft , hardwork , and good character wou l d a l l ow
blacks to be accept ed into the larger soc i ety .
Ch i e f among
the proponents of th i s ph i l i sophy , and one who wou ld d i rectly i n f luence the Bridgeforth fam i l y , was Booker T . Wash i ngton .
To understand th i s inf luence we must turn our atten-
t i on to the Bridgeforth fami ly .
One o f the maj or ef fects of emanc ipa t i on was the tran s f ormation wh i ch occurred w ithin the black f am i ly .
The con-
trol of the fam i ly and its l abor passed from the hands of
the master to within the fam i ly itse l f .
As a result ,
im-
med i ately a fter the war wh ites comp l a i ned that freedmen
'' have a lmost un iversa l ly w ithdrawn the i r women and ch i ldren
f rom the f i e lds , putting the f irst at hous ework and the
4 Robert H iggs , "Accumu lation of Property by S outhern
B l acks before Wor ld War I , " Amer i can Econom i c Revi ew 7 2
( 1 9 8 2 ) 3 4 3 , and F i sher 4 8 7 .
23
l atter at s choo l . " 5
A s bl acks struggl ed economica l ly t o
survive the hard times o f the 1 8 7 0 s , many women and chi ldren
f ound themse lves once again in the fields .
I n spite o f
this , blacks continued to exert t h e new f ound control over
their own l abor , and the family " decided where and when
black women and children wou ld work .
116
A ma j or f actor in
George Bridge forth ' s success during the l at e nineteenth and
ear ly twentieth centuries wa s the labor and support of his
wife and children .
I t has been estimated that for every forty acres under
cultivation , one man and one mu le were needed , and , by 1 9 0 0 ,
with at least 1 7 3 acres to f arm at this time , the labor o f
his wife a n d children wa s essenti a l to Bridge forth ' s pros­
perity .
By 1 9 0 0 , George and Jennie Bridge f orth ' s fami l y had
grown to nine living chi ldren .
and Bas com ,
the farm . 7
Two o f their sons , Wi l liam
lived at home and assisted with the running o f
I n addition to as sisting their father , the son s
a l s o rai s ed crops of their own , preparing for t h e day when
they wou ld start fami lies .
One son , Wi l liam , borrowed his
first crop money when he was only fourteen years o ld . 8
5 Foner 8 5 .
6
Foner 8 7 .
7 Manus cript Census , 1 9 0 0 P l ea sant Grove Beat #7 ,
8 Mortgage Record , Book 8 4
( 18 9 7 )
57 .
123 .
24
Two of the other sons pur sued an educat ion .
tendi ng Tuskegee I nst i tute , I ssac ( Ike )
After at-
c ame back t o L ime-
stone County and started a farming operat ion adj acent to h i s
f ather .
The e ldest o f the Bridgeforth son s , George Ruf f in ,
f o l l owed a s l i ght ly d i f ferent track .
Wh i le a board ing stu-
dent at the Tr i n ity School in Athens , Bridgeforth caught the
eye o f some of the s chool ' s teachers who encouraged h im to
cont i nue h i s education .
Upon h i s graduat ion from Trin ity i n
1 8 9 4 , he made h i s way to Ta l ladega Co l l ege .
From there he
trave led to Amherst , Ma ssachusetts where he graduated f rom
Ma ssachus etts Agr icultural Col lege in 1 9 0 1 .
I n 1 9 02 , he
found emp loyment as a teacher o f agr i cu lture at Tuskegee
Norma l and I ndustr i a l Institute in Tuskegee , A labama . 9
B r idgeforth ' s f i rst years at Tuskegee were extreme ly
busy one s .
I n add i t ion to teaching cour s e s on bee-keep i ng
and l ivestock-ra i s ing , he became an a s s i stant to George
Wa sh ington Carver , the d i rector of agr i cu ltur e . 1 0
Carver
and B r i dgeforth a l so team-taught the ' ' Short Cours e in Agr i culture . "
Started in 1 9 0 4 , the course r a n f o r s ix week s
dur i ng the w inter months .
I t s purpose was to educate and
9 Dat i e Russe l l , person a l i nterview , Ju ly 1 9 8 9 , and
Frank Lincoln Mather ,
Who ' s Who of the C o l ored Race
( Ch i cago : 1 9 1 5 ) 3 7 .
1 0 Tuskegee Institute Annua l Cata l oaue ( Tuskegee : Tus­
kegee I n s t i tute Pres s , 1 9 02- 1 9 1 8 ) .
25
a s s i s t l ocal f armers by help ing them " so lve some o f the i r
prob l ems . " 1 1
I t was a l so dur i ng thes e early years that a running
feud deve l oped between Carver and Br idgeforth that woul d
cont i nue unt i l Bridgeforth l e f t the school i n 1 9 1 8 .
Br idge-
forth and C arver ' s c lash appeared to be an ext en s i on o f ongoing conf l i cts between Carver and Booker T . Wa sh i ngton
regarding Carver ' s admini strat i on of the Agr i cu ltur a l De­
partment . 1 2
I n add i t ion a number o f peop l e work ing under
Carver " resented the attent ion h i s laboratory work rece ived
at the expense of the i r own work . " 1 3
The comp l a i nt s o f
Br idgef orth a n d other faculty members under C arver ' s authori ty eventua l ly l ed to a restructur ing o f the department with
Carver becom i ng the " D irector of the Exper imenta l Sta t i on
and Agr i cu ltura l I nstruct ion , " and Bridgeforth being named
head of the new " Department of Agr icu ltur a l I ndustr ie s . " 1 4
Eventua l ly the departments were reun ited , and Br idgeforth
became d irector o f the new Agr i cu l tur a l Department .
When
Carver comp l a ined about having to work under B r i dgeforth ,
1 1 Al len w . Jones , " The Role o f Tuskegee I n s t i tute i n
the Educat i on o f Bl ack Farmers , " Journ a l o f Negro H i story LX
( 19 7 5 ) : 26 1 .
1 2 L i nda o. McMurry , George Wa shington Carver : S c i ent i s t
a n d Symbo l ( Oxford : Oxford UP , 1 9 8 1 ) 5 8 .
1 3 McMurry 5 8 .
1 4 McMurry 62- 6 5 .
26
Washington " made i t c l ear that Carver was B r i dgeforth ' s
subord i nate and that ' in a l l matters o f d i f ference ' Br idge­
forth had the ' author i ty to dec i de . ' 11 1 5
After Washington ' s
death i n 1 9 1 5 , the new president of the schoo l , Robert
Moton , s i ded with Carver in h i s crit i c i sm of B r i dgeforth .
Having lost h i s a l ly , Bridgeforth left Tuskegee i n 1 9 1 8 to
take another j ob . 1 6
I n spite o f these con f l i ct s , Bridgeforth ' s early years
at Tuskegee were exc it ing ones .
I n 1 9 0 6 , he became i nvo lved
w ith one o f the most succe ssful programs ever run by the
schoo l .
Wh i l e the courses offered at the s chool were we l l -
attended and popu l ar among local farmer s , W a sh ingt on bel ieved Tuskegee could have an even greater e f f ect by taking
demonstrat i ons and lectures d i rectly to the surround i ng
commun i t i e s .
Washington , Carver , and other profes sors at
the school frequent ly made trips i nto the countrys ide to
talk with and advise f armers , and out o f these trips c ame
the idea for a movabl e school of agr i cu l ture . 1 7
Beginn ing i n the summer o f 1 9 0 6 , B r i dgef orth drove a
wagon , out f itted with farming equ ipment and supp l ies ,
the communi t i e s surrounding Tuskegee .
into
He began working i n
1 5 McMurry 6 6 .
1 6 McMurry 1 5 9 - 1 6 1 .
17 Fe l ix Jame s , " The Tuskegee Institute Movable S choo l ,
1 9 0 6 - 1 92 3 , " Agr i cultur a l H i story , 4 5 ( 1 9 7 1 ) : 2 0 1 -2 02 .
27
an area by l ook ing over indivi dua l farming opera t i ons ,
ask ing quest i ons , and offering advice .
Having v i s ited i n -
d ividua l farms , he then held a l arge outdoor meet i ng and
demonstrat i on .
I n add i t i on to d i sp l aying the l atest i n
f arming equ ipment , Bridge forth taught the proper u s e and
app l i ca t i on of fert i l i z ers , a s we l l a s the ben e f i t s of
r a i s ing vegetab les , hogs , da i ry catt l e , and other food
crops .
Wh i l e pra i s ing s e l f - s u f f i c iency , he a l s o preached
the " gospe l o f Tuskegee " --the importance of b l a ck landowner­
ship . 1 8
When farmers asked how they could poss ibly obt a i n
the resources to buy land , Bridgeforth would sugge st cooperat ive buyi ng e f forts , us ing as an examp l e the c ommunity
started at Fort Davis by Rev . Moses E l l i ngton . 19
The idea o f cooperat ive ownership had i t s origin s i n
the e f forts made dur ing the C iv i l War to prov ide b l acks w i th
conf i s cated l ands . 20
Starting with Reconstruc t i on , there
were numerous examples of blacks "who had poo l ed thei r
r esources to buy p lantat i ons , wh i ch they then divided among
themse lves . " 2 1
From the Sea I s l ands to Mound Bayou , groups
18 Booker T . Washington , "A Farmer ' s C o l l ege on Wheel s , "
Wor ld ' s Work , 1 3 ( 19 0 6 - 1 9 0 7 ) : 8 3 5 3 .
19 Washington 8 3 5 4 .
20 August Me i er and E l l i ott Rudwi ck , From P l antat ion to
Ghetto ( New York : H i l l , 1 9 6 6 ) 1 5 0 - 1 52 .
2 1 Me i er and Rudwick 1 5 3 .
28
o f freedmen attempted to ensure the ir econom i c i ndependence
through co l l ect ive ownersh ip .
The f i rst such e f fort a t
Tuskegee w a s the Southern Improvement Company , s tarted i n
1 9 0 0 by " the leading Northern reformers i n the S outhern
educat i ona l movement . "n
Founded to prov i de acreage t o
l and l e s s b lacks i n the country surround i ng Tuskegee , the
S outhern Improvement Company was f irst and foremost a bus i ness venture ,
cial rewards . 23
i ntended t o provide its investors w i th f inanS imi lar in nature was the Tuskegee Farm and
Improvement Company founded in 1 9 1 4 by Booker T . Wash i ngton
to enable Tuskegee graduates to purchase l and of the i r own .
Known a s the Ba ldwin Farms , the company a l so made loans to
l andowners for crops and equ ipment .
I t too was run a s " a
bus iness rather than a charitable" venture , and George
Ru f f in Br idge forth served as its v ice-pres ident for several
years . �
I n the f a l l of 1 9 0 6 , Br idgeforth turned the movable
school over to Thoma s M.
Campbe l l , the " f i r s t b lack demon-
strat ion agent in the United States , " but the l e s sons he had
n James D . Anderson , " The Southern Improvement Company :
Northern Reformers ' I nvestment i n Negro Cotton Tenancy ,
1 9 0 0 - 1 92 0 , " Agr i cu ltura l H i story 52 ( 1 9 7 8 ) : 1 1 1 .
n
Anderson 1 1 1 - 1 12.
� Lou i s R . Harlan , Booker T . Washington ; the W i z ard o f
Tuskegee ( Oxford : Oxford UP , 1 9 8 3} 2 1 4 , and Who ' s Who o f the
Co lored Race 3 7 .
29
both taught and l earned wh i l e on the wagon rema ined w i th him
f or years to come . 25
Wh i l e st i l l at Tuskegee , B r i dgeforth
took these l es sons and began to app ly them to h i s own f am i ly
and commun i ty in Limestone County .
He started by purcha s ing
l and o f h i s own , beginning with two lot s in Athens wh i ch
cost $ 3 0 0 , and i n December ,
5 1 0 acres .
1 9 0 3 , he acqu i red a n add i t i on a l
Located next to h i s father ' s property on the Elk
River , th i s tract cost $ 4 , 5 0 0 and , wh i l e the deed was i n
George Ruf f in Br idgeforth ' s name , h i s parents a n d brothers
a l so owned part i nterest in the land .
I n 1 9 0 9 , three months
before f in a l payment wa s due , Bridgeforth pa id o f f the l and
in fu l l . 26
Wh i le the se land purchases made the Bridgeforths
the only black farmers in L imestone County in 1 9 1 0 with over
2 6 0 acres , they were not content to stop w i th th i s accomp l i shment . n
I n October ,
1910 ,
incorporat i on papers were f i led with
the Limestone County C l erk for a company to be c a l led the
Southern Sma l l Farm Land Company . 28
The obj ect o f the cor-
pora t i on was to:
�
Jones 2 6 4 .
M
Mortgage Record , Book 6 7
( 19 03}
596-597 .
27 Negro Population in the Un ited States , 1 7 9 0 - 1 9 1 5
7 01 .
28 L imestone County , Al abama , Corpora t i on App l i cat i on
( 19 1 0 ) 5 5 - 6 1 .
30
Encourage the ownership o f land and the stimu l at ion o f
improved methods of farm i ng among Negroe s , to farm o n a
cooperat ive bas i s , to buy and s e l l l and and merchan­
d i s e , seed , fert i l i z ers , farm ing utens i l s and other
art i c l e s needed and of ben f i t to its members and a l s o
the pub l i c i n genera l . �
The pre s ident o f the company was George Ruf f in B r i dgeforth ,
whi l e Ike Br idgeforth served as vi ce-pres ident and Watkins
Cox wa s secretary and treasurer .
The corpora t i on l i sted 25
stockholders , with each share worth $ 5 0 .
Th irteen stock-
holders control led one to three shares each .
The maj or
shareholders were members of the Bridgeforth fami ly .
George
and Jennie held 4 1 shares , wh i l e Ike , Wi l l i am , and Bascom
together contro l l ed 4 4 shares .
George Ruf f i n and h i s w i f e ,
D at i e , owned 8 9 shares , mak i ng them the l arge st shareho l ders .
Wh i l e the ma j or ity o f the shareho lders were from
Limestone County , two were from Tuskegee , three from M i s sour i , a n d one was from New York . �
w.
R . Petti ford o f
B i rmingham , a c lose friend of Booker T . Wa s h i ngton ' s and
founder of Al abama ' s f irst black bank , The Al abama Penny
Savings Bank , owned one share . 31
I nstead o f cash , many of the sma l l er investors traded
l ega l or f inanc i a l work in exchange for shares i n the com-
� Corporat i on Appl i cation 5 5 .
� Corporation App l i ca t i on 5 6 .
3 1 August Me i er , Negro Thought in Amer ica : 1 8 8 0- 1 9 1 5
( Ann Arbor : Univers ity o f Michigan Pres s , 1 9 7 0 ) 143.
31
pany .
The i nvestments o f the l arger shareho lders usua l ly
con s i sted of property they deeded over to the company .
examp l e , Jennie Bridgeforth ,
For
in exchange for her i nterest i n
the 5 1 0 acres o n the Elk R iver , rece ived 1 9 shares of the
company .
George Ruf f in and Dat i e Bridgeforth , the larges t
stockho lders , deeded over the ir Athens l o t s a s we l l a s the i r
i nterest in the 5 1 0 acre tract . n
Fol lowing the formation o f the S outhern Sma l l Farm Land
Company , a series of comp l i cated land and cash transact i ons
occurred .
After deed i ng the ir l and to the company , some o f
the stockho lders , m a i n l y those in the Bridgeforth fam i ly ,
took out mortgages with the company on other tracts o f l and .
Apparently , the object of thes e transactions was to d i spose
o f land held in Athens and the northern part o f the county ,
and ,
in exchange , receive port i ons of a tract i n the south­
ern part o f the county on the Tennessee River .
Why were the
Bridgeforths moving the ir farming operat i on to th i s new
l ocat i on?
The B r i dgeforth fam i ly had made an adequate l iving f rom
the l and on the E lk R iver , but the reg i on was not idea l for
cotton growing .
s ion .
Overa l l i t was h i l ly and sub j ect to ero­
The l and on the Tennessee R iver , on the other hand ,
was l eve l ,
n
fert i le , and had a lways been pr ime cotton a c -
Corporat i on App l i cation 5 9 .
32
reage .
Although owned by wh i te s , the l and was i nhabit ed
pr imar i ly by black tenant s- -the be l i e f be i ng that blacks
were not a s l ikely to be a f fected by the annu a l i n f lux of
mosqu itoes .
I n December ,
1 9 1 0 , George Ruf f in and Dat i e
Bridgeforth a long with Watkins and Le l i a Cox s o l d the S outhern Sma l l Farm Land Company 7 0 5 acres o f l and on the Tennessee River for $ 1 4 , 2 0 0 . n
In the s ame month and cont in-
u ing throughout 1 9 1 1 , the company began s e l l i ng tracts o f
thi s land to both stockho lders a n d individua l s w i th no
i nterest i n the company .
The pr ice o f the l and var ied be-
tween $ 1 8 - 2 5 an acre , depend i ng on the l ocat ion and fert i l ity o f the so i l .
George and Dat i e Br idgeforth bought 5 2
acres for $ 9 6 0 , Watkins and Le l i a Cox purchased 2 4 acres for
$ 6 2 5 , and Ike Bridgeforth received 40 acres for $ 1 0 0 0 .
Two
hundred and f orty f ive out o f the 5 0 0 acres s o l d i n 1 9 1 1
went t o e i ther Br idge forth fam i ly members or company investors . �
Who bought the other 2 6 5 acres?
George Ru f f in Br idge-
forth was drawn to the Tennessee R iver area for potent i a l
re sources other than j ust fert i l e land .
The b l a ck tenant
f armers l iving in the area p l ayed a cruc i a l r o l e in the idea
n Deed Record , Book 1 1 6 ( 1 9 1 0 )
2 3 6 , 2 3 9 -2 4 0 .
� Deed Record , Book 1 0 9 ( 1 9 1 0 ) 5 6 8 - 5 6 9 , Deed Record
Book 1 5 6 ( 1 9 1 8 ) 1 5 6-1 5 7 , Deed Record , Book 1 1 3 ( 1 9 1 1 ) 3 6 6 3 7 5 , 4 2 7 -4 3 1 , and Deed Record , Book 1 1 6 ( 1 9 1 0 ) 2 3 4 - 2 3 5 .
33
beh i nd the S outhern Sma l l Farm Land Company .
As W i l l i am
Bridgeforth recal led :
He ( George Ruf f i n Br idgeforth} sold to I som Ma lone ,
George S ett l e s , Adam Lucas - - s e l l to b lack f am i l i e s
only .
When h e approached these b l ack f am i l i e s about
buy i ng some land for your s e l f and farm for yours e l f ,
they s a i d thi s i s aga inst the law , b l a cks are not
supposed to do that .
They went and ask s ome wh ites wa s
i t l awful for them t o own l and l ike a nybody e l s e , own
The a nswer was
mul e s , pay taxes l ike anybody e l s e .
i t ' s a l l r ight .
They bought land from the Sma l l Farm .
The idea wa s to get land i nto the hands o f black per­
sons . �
At least two , i f not more , o f those who bought the rema i n i ng
245 acres had never owned land before .
One one -hundred-acre
tract was purchased by three couples from the s ame fam i ly . 36
George Ruf f i n Bridge forth , by start ing the S outhern Sma l l
Farm Land Company , enabled land less blacks t o become a vita l
part of th i s new a l l -black commun i ty known a s Beu l ahl and .
After the i n i t i a l f lurry of land transac t i on s , the corporation apprent ly went out o f bus iness or at l e a st cea sed
to operate as an act ive real estate company .
The last
transact i on recorded in the S outhern Sma l l Farm name occurred i n 1 9 1 3 , when Robert and Price Hendr i cks , wh ite
l andowners , traded a tract o f l and on the Tenne s s e e River
� Wi l l i am Bridgeforth , persona l intervi ew , December
1983 .
36 Deed Record , Book 1 1 3 ( 1 9 1 1} 3 6 9 - 3 7 0 , 4 2 9 - 4 3 1; Deed
Record , Book 1 1 6 ( 1 9 1 0} 2 3 4 -235; L imestone County , Al abama ,
Tax Abstract ( 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 05} , and L imestone County , Al abama , Tax
C o l l ector ' s Cash Book ( 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 0 6} .
34
for a l ot i n Athens owned by the company . 37
Wh i l e i t i s not
known how successful the corpora t i on was i n t erms of i ncreas ing the monetary wea lth o f its shareholder s , by 19 13 ,
it had g iven r i se to the format ion o f a n a l l-bl ack commun i ty
of l andowners .
They owned some o f the r i chest l and i n the
county and a l l shared a stake i n the surviva l of the b l ack
community o f B eu l ahl and-- for these reason s a l one the S outhern Sma l l Farm Land Company could be deemed a success .
I n sp ite of the f luctuat ions in the cotton economy over
the next years , the res idents of Beu l ah l and held on to the i r
l and , and some even increa sed the i r acreage .
I n 1913 ,
George and Jenn i e Bridgeforth purchased another 4 6 acres i n
the commun ity , and a year l ater , they sold a l l o f the i r
rema in ing l and i n the northern part o f the county . 38
George
and Dat i e Bridgeforth a l s o added to the i r h o l d i ngs , purchasi ng another 2 2 4 acres , and mak ing them the l argest l and­
holders i n the commun ity . 39
Between 19 17 and 19 2 0 , wh i l e
one o f the original fam i l ies i n the community sold the i r
Deed Record, Book 12 8
( 19 1 3 )
426-429 .
38 Deed Record, Book 13 2
Book 119 ( 19 13 ) 5 0 2 .
( 19 14 )
6 0 9 , and Deed Record ,
39 Deed Record, Book 1 5 7
( 19 18 ) 2 4 8 .
( 19 17 )
9 2 and Deed Record , Book
n
156
35
land to another bl ack couple ,
at l east two new f am i l ie s
purchased farms in Beu l ah land . �
By the t ime of George Br idgeforth ' s death i n 1 9 2 2 , he
and Jenn i e cou ld look with pr i de to the i r accomp l i shment s .
The ex- s l aves had gone from owning noth ing after the C iv i l
War to having substant i a l hold i ngs on some o f the most
fert i l e l and i n the county.
Two of the i r s ons had graduated
from co l l ege , one going on to become a c o l l ege profes sor and
the other a succe ssful farmer .
Severa l o f the i r other ch i l -
dren were l andowners i n the a l l black commun i ty o f Beu l ah l and .
After h i s death , the community woul d c ont i nue to
prosper .
Ike Bridgeforth started a t imber bus iness i n the
mid- 1 9 2 0 s , and i n add i t i on to emp loying h i s son s , he a l so
h ired men from the commun i ty . 4 1
After l eaving Tuskegee i n
1 9 1 8 , George Ruf f in Bridgeforth became head o f Kansas Voca t i on a l C o l lege i n Topeka , a n d from there went to Tennesse
Agr icu lture and I ndustr i a l Col lege in Nashvi l le . 42
His
Beu l ah l and farm was run by tenants during those years , but
he stayed in c lose contact with h i s f am i ly and often v i s ited
the community . 43
� Deed Record , Book 1 5 7
( 1 917}
50-54 .
4 1 Darden Br idgeforth , persona l interview , July 1 9 9 0 .
42 " Negro Educator Here i s Recommended for Post , " A l a ­
bama Cour ier/Limestone Democrat March 16 1 9 3 3 : 1 .
43 Dat i e Bridgeforth , person a l intervi ew , July 1 9 8 9 .
36
As the population o f the commun i ty increased ,
its need f o r a school .
so d i d
I n order to get a n educat ion , Beu-
l ah l and ' s chi ldren boarded w i th f r i ends or r e l at ives i n
Athens wh i l e attend ing the Tr i n ity Schoo l .
I n the 19 2 0 s ,
George Ruf f i n Bridgeforth gave the commun i ty l and , and
app l i ed f or a grant from the Rosenwa ld Fund to bu i ld an
e l ementary schoo l .
The commun i ty supp l i ed the t imber and
l abor , wh i l e the fund provided other expenses .
After the
school was comp l eted , the communi ty co l l ected money each
year to pay teachers s a l a r i e s , and took turns provid ing them
with room and board .
O lder chi ldren st i l l had to trave l to
Athens to the nearest black h igh schoo l , but everyone could
now rece ive at l east a m i n imal educat i on . «
As the end o f the decade approached ,
i t appeared that
Beulah land was a prosperous and growing commun i ty .
The
quest i on that now rema ined was could its substant i a l success
withstand the coming b l ows of the Great Depr e s s i on?
« W i l l i am Bridgeforth , personal i nterv i ew , December
19 8 3 and Datie Russe l l , persona l i nterv i ew , July 19 8 9 .
37
CHAPTER IV
BEULAHLAND AND THE NEW DEAL ,
192 0-19 4 0
Between 1 9 2 0 and 1 9 3 0 , bl ack landownership i n the S outh
decrea sed due to bo l l weev i l i nfestat i ons in the early
1 9 2 0 s , and cont i nued econom i c instab i l i ty i n the cotton
market through out the rest o f the decade .
The genera l
prosper i ty o f 1 9 1 6 t o 1 9 1 9 , when cotton pr ices went a s h igh
as 3 5 cents a pound , wa s f o l l owed by the devastating ex­
peri ence of 1 9 2 0 , when pr i ces f e l l to between 13 and 1 5
cents a pound . 1
Although the market recovered s omewhat be­
tween 1 9 2 2 and 1 9 2 4 ,
it was down aga in in 1 9 2 5 .
By 1 9 2 9 ,
the pr ice per pound dropped to 1 6 cents , and by 1 9 3 1 ,
down to 5 cent s.2
i t was
The depress ion struck the S outh par­
t i cu l a r ly hard as "the income from farm product ion in the
ten ma in cotton states dropped f rom $ 2 . 4 b i l l ion i n 1 9 2 9 to
only $ 9 2 9 m i l l i on in 1 9 3 2 . " 3
The ef fect on b lack and wh ite landownership wa s im­
mediate.
19 3 0 ,
In 1 9 2 0 , over 2 1 7 , 0 0 0 blacks owned land , but by
fewer than 1 8 2 , 5 0 0 s t i l l contro l l ed the i r own
1 F i te 1 0 2.
2 F i te 1 2 5.
3 F i te 1 2 0.
38
acreage . 4
I n L imestone County , there were 1 7 6 8 white owners
in 1 9 2 0 and only 1 3 8 4 by 1 9 3 0 .
B lack ownership in the
county dur ing the same years went from 4 9 2 to 2 3 6 . 5
B etween
1 9 3 0 and 1 9 3 5 , both groups improved somewhat w i th 1 4 6 9 wh ite
and 2 6 1 b l ack landowners . 6
Al though i t i s not known i f any Beulahl and owners lost
the i r farms dur ing the se years , many of them took out mortgages on the i r property .
Wash Settles was only one year
late i n pay ing off a $ 1 6 0 0 second mortgage he took out on
his 1 2 5 a cres . 7
I n 1 9 2 3 , Adam Lucas mortgaged 4 0 acres to
the Federal Land Bank f or $7 0 0 .
Wh i l e he d i d not lose h i s
property in the lean years that fol lowed , h i s f inal payment
was made in 1 9 3 4 , seven years a fter it wa s due . 8
The Fed-
era l Land Bank was also the source for a $2 5 0 0 mortgage
taken out by George Ruf f i n and Dat ie Br idgeforth i n 1 9 2 6 and
paid in f u l l by 1 9 3 5 . 9
4 F i sher 4 8 2 .
5 Census of Agr i culture ( 1 9 2 0 ) 4 9 2 , and U. s. Census
Off ice , Census o f Agr i cu lture ( Washington : GPO , 1 9 2 7 ) 7 8 5 .
6 u . s . Census O f f i ce , Census of Agr c i cu lture (Washington : GPO , 1 9 3 7 ) 6 2 9 .
7 Deed Record , Book 2 2 5 ( 1 9 2 3 )
31.
8 Deed Record , Book 1 6 2
( 19 2 3 ) 2 04 .
9 Deed Record , Book 1 6 2
( 192 3 )
3 15 .
39
By the t ime of Frank l in D . Rooseve lt ' s e lect i on i n
1 9 3 2 , S outhern farmers were desperate , a n d h i s v ictory
as sured them " that the feder a l government wou l d at l a st
init iate some k ind o f bo l d farm r e l i e f program . " 1 0
Wh i l e
the New Dea l has often been c r it i c i z ed for the damage i t d i d
t o the l ives o f both black and wh ite southern tenant f armers , many of the same po l i c i es that drove tenants from the
f avored the landowner . 1 1
l and ,
As the depres s i on deepened ,
l andowners i n Beulahl and increa s ingly turned t o the Federa l
government f or a s s i stance , and , a l though none o f the f am i l ies app l i ed for or rece ived pub l i c r e l i e f , other New D e a l
programs proved bene f i c i a l .
Several took advantage o f the
l owered interest rates from the Federa l Land Bank .
For ex-
amp l e , George Ruf f i n and Dat i e Br idgeforth had p a i d 5 . 5
percent interest for a mortgage taken out i n 1 9 2 6 , but by
193 6 ,
interest rates for s imi l ar mortgages had dropped to
four percent ,
and they ref inanced the ir l oan . 1 2
S evera l o f
1 ° Fite 1 2 7 .
11
Pete Dan i e l , " The New Dea l , Southern Agr i cu lture , and
Econom i c Change , " The New Dea l and the S outh , eds . James C .
Cobb and Micha e l V. Namorato ( Ja ckson : UP of M i s s i s s ipp i ,
198 4 ) 60 .
12 Deed Record , Book 1 6 2
Book 3 2 3 { 1 9 3 6 ) 2 6 0 .
{ 19 2 3 )
3 1 5 , and Deed Record ,
40
the Br idgeforths a l so took out mortgages on the i r property
under the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act of 1 9 3 3 . 13
Another program that benef ited Beu lahland ' s f armers was
the Agr i cu ltur a l Adj ustment Act ( AAA) , wh i ch i n 1 9 3 3 began
paying farmers $7 to $ 1 0 an acre not to p lant cotton . M
Whi l e AAA pol i c i es tended to f avor l arger l a ndowners , and
the payments to most sma l l farmers were m i n ima l ,
in 1 9 3 4 , at
least f our Beu l ahland owners rece ived payments that r anged
from $ 5 0 to $ 1 0 0 . 15
hand ,
Tenants in the commun ity , on the other
only rece ived payments o f between $ 4 and $ 5 0 , and
obviou s ly the program wa s of l itt l e help to them . 1 6
The federal program that wou l d have the most impact on
the community , however , was the Tennessee Va l l ey Author ity
( TVA ) .
" De s i gned to br ing permanent help to a substant i a l
number o f southern farmers , " TVA p l anned t o construct
Wheeler Dam a nd Reservo ir on the Tennessee R iver in order to
13 Deed Record , Book 3 1 8
Record , Book 3 2 3 ( 1 9 3 6 ) 2 9 6 .
( 19 3 4 )
4 3 and 1 0 0 , and Deed
14 F ite 1 3 1 .
1 5 Fite 1 3 9 , and Tennessee Va l ley Author ity , Fami ly
193 5 .
( At lanta : Re­
Remova l Quest i onnaires ( Form 9 7 0 ) .
g i on a l Arch ives Branch , Federa l Archives and Record Center )
Nos . 7 5 0 , 7 8 1 , 1 0 1 1 , 1 0 1 2 , and 1 5 0 1 .
1 6 TVA 9 7 0 Surveys , Nos . 6 9 5 , 1 0 1 6 , 1 1 0 4 , and 1 5 2 1 . Two
o f these tenants worked on the George Ruf f in Bridgeforth
farm . Wh i l e the i r AAA payments were not very l arge , i t
shou ld be noted that both had comparat ively l arge incomes
from cotton s a l e s for the year .
41
a i d with f l ood and eros i on contro l , generate e l ectr i c i ty ,
and br ing moder n i z a t i on to the communi t i e s surround ing the
r iver . 17
In 19 3 4 , the Authority began acqu i r i ng l and a l ong
the banks o f the Tennessee R iver .
Eight hundred and th irty
f ive f am i l i e s in a f ive-county area in northern Al abama were
forced to relocate .
Among these were at least 12 f am i l ies
from the B eu l ah l and community .
TVA relocat i on took about
one-ha l f of the commun ity ' s l and .
Some f am i l i e s were tota l -
l y una f f ected , others lost port i ons o f f arms , and sti l l
other s had t o turn over the i r ent ire hold ings . 1 8
When f irst approached by TVA sta f f about s e l l ing the ir
farms and moving , the community ' s res idents responded with
less than overwhe lming enthus i asm .
After the agency a ssured
them they wou ld rece ive good prices for the ir l and and
a s s i stance in locating and moving to farms of equ a l value ,
most res idents qu iet ly packed the ir be l ongings and prepared
to move .
They a l so became aware o f propos a l s for soc i a l
change be i ng d i scussed with in TVA and the Rooseve l t adm i n i strat i on that they felt wou ld be o f ben e f i t to the
commun ity .
Aid to the l and less tenants and sma l l farmers ,
cooperat ive agr i cu lture and fert i l i z ation proj ects , rura l
17 Fite 14 9 .
1 8 Tennessee Va l l ey Author ity , " Fami l i es o f the Whe e l er
Res ervo ir Area , " ( Knoxvi l l e : TVA , 19 3 5 ) 1 , and TVA 9 7 0
Surveys .
42
e l ectr i f i cation , and emp loyment with TVA a l l sounded l ike
good idea s .
To understand how th i s hope and opt imism turned
to b i tterness we must l ook to the community and the events
whi ch began in 1 934 .
The Whee l er Dam relocat i on proj ect was the f irst t ime
TVA worked with a l arge b l a ck populat ion .
Wh i le the b l ack
popu lat i on o f the f ive count ies ran between 18 to 30 per­
cent , over 5 0 percent of the fami l ies up for remova l were
b lack .
The fami l i es were d ivided into groups according to
the ir landho l d ing status .
A lmost 80 percent o f the group
were e i ther sharecroppers or tenants , wh i le 13 . 6 percent
were farm laborer s .
Owner operators only made up 7. 1 per­
cent o f the tota l . 1 9
Be fore rel ocat i on pro j ects began , TVA sent i n teams o f
i nve st igators to ta lk with res idents be i ng moved from the i r
homes .
I n these interviews , TVA comp l i ed extens ive s o c i o ­
l og i c a n d econom i c data on each fami ly .
The surveys con­
ducted with res idents o f Beu lahl and offer i n s i ght into the
dai ly l ives and econom i c status of these fami l i e s , but
because only fam i l i es a f f ected by r e l ocation were inter­
viewed , the surveys were not necessar i ly representative of
the ent ire community .
1 9 " Fami l i es of the Wheeler Res ervo ir Area "
3.
43
O f the e l even f ami l ie s interviewed by TVA ,
f ive were
landowners , f our were tenants , and two were l aborers who
worked for TVA c l ear ing land . 20
Overa l l , the B eu l ah l and
fami l i es were about average in a l l categor ies covered in the
survey except l and ownersh ip .
Landowners made up 4 5 percent
of the B eu l ahland popu l at i on , compared to the 7 . 1 percent
ownership in the tota l black and white popu l t i on inc luded i n
the survey . 2 1
L ike most fam i l ies in the Wheeler area , the B eul ahl and
res idents l ived in wood frame houses .
The only d i f ference
was that the ir homes tended to be somewhat larger than
those of other fam i l ies .
Most of the homes were c l ean and
we l l - organ i z ed , the except ion being one house a l ready part ia l ly removed , wh ich had a l l the furn iture stored in one
room .
The homes were f a i r ly we l l furnished and n i ne o f the
f am i l ies owned sewing machines , three had phonographs ,
and
two had radios or organs . n
Fac i l i t i es i n the Beu l ah l and homes were typ i c a l o f
others i n the area .
Whee l er area ,
TVA reported that , i n the ent ire
" not a s ingle f arm house had e ither a bathtub
20 TVA 9 7 0 Surveys Nos . 6 9 5 , 7 8 0 , 7 8 1 , 1 0 1 1 , 1 0 1 2 , 1 0 1 6 ,
1 1 0 4 , 1 1 1 8 , 1 4 3 6 , and 1 5 2 1 . Because the two l aborers d i d no
f arm work they w i l l not be included i n th i s d i s cu s s i on .
2 1 " Fami l ie s of the Wheeler Reservo ir Area " 4 .
22 " Fami l ie s of the Whee l er Reservo ir Area , " and TVA 9 7 0
Surveys .
44
or an ins ide t o l i et , " and the Beu lahland homes were no
except i on . 23
Fam i l ies drew the i r water from nearby spr ings
or we l l s and used tubs for bath ing .
Although the fam i l i e s
tended t o have about the same l eve l o f education a s other
b l acks i n the study , they subscr i bed to more maga z ines and
newspapers than wh ites or other b lacks .
Women i n the com-
mun ity tended to have more educat i on than d i d the i r hus bands .
For examp l e ,
one woman , marr i ed to a man with no
f orma l education , had comp l eted the e i ghth grade .
The
number of cars and trucks in the commun ity was much h i gher
that among other survey respondent s .
Forty percent o f the
f am i l ies owned relat ively new trucks , compared t o less than
2 4 percent o f whites and only n ine percent of b l acks .
Two
o f the recent ly purchased trucks were used i n l ogg ing and
c l earing operat i ons for TVA . 24
The fami l i es , with a med i an of 2 5 years i n the commun ity , were extremely stable compared to others in the
area .
Wh i l e the i r f arms were about average i n s i z e , they
produced s l i ght ly more in crops than d i d other f armers ,
wh i ch could mean they a l l owed shorter f a l l ow per i ods .
As a
resu l t , and because cotton and corn , the two princ ipa l crops
grown , were part icu l a r ly hard on the l and , the i r future
23 " Fami l i es of the Whe e l er Reservo i r Are a " 1 1 .
24 " Fami l i es of the Wheeler Reservo i r Area , " and TVA 9 7 0
Surveys .
45
y i e l d s m ight have been reduced .
Whi l e TVA noted that the
" ab i l ity to get a long on its cash crop , cotton , had made
l ivestock r e l at ively scarce '' i n the area , t h i s d i d not appl y
to t h e Beu l ah land farmers . �
Most of them owned at l e a s t
one or two mu l e s , hogs , and pou ltry .
Cows , wh i ch were
part icularly scare i n the Wheeler area , were the f avored
anima l in Beu l ah land , even among the tenant s .
Each f ami ly
had at l east one cow , and severa l owned f our or f ive .
All
o f the fami l i es grew food crops , and several o f the l andowners had above average y i e lds i n th i s category . 26
After TVA l and purchases were comp l eted , the Beu l ah l and
f ami l ies that were to be rel ocated started l ook i ng for new
f arms , and a l l hoped to be able to rema i n in the immed iate
vicin ity . 27
Wh i l e George Ru f f i n Br idgeforth lost 3 6 5 acres
to TVA , he st i l l owned rema i n ing acreage , and his brothers
and three other owners purchased tracts from him .
Sever a l
of the f am i l i e s s imp ly moved the i r homes onto part i a l tracts
whi ch they were able to reta i n .
more d i f f icult .
For others , the proce s s was
Land va lues i n the area increased substan-
t ia l ly when the l arger white l andowners , ant i c ipat ing bus i ness deve lopment on the reservo i r , refused t o s e l l any o f
25 " Fami l i es of t h e Wheeler Reservo i r Area " 15.
26 " Fam i l ie s of the Wheeler Reservo i r Area , " and TVA 9 7 0
Surveys .
27 TVA 9 7 0 Surveys .
46
the ir land . u
As a resu lt , many of the rema in ing res i dents
were f orced to move to Pete ' s Corner , about ten m i l e s
away . 29
Whi l e TVA promi sed a s s i stance i n f i nd ing l and of equ a l
value , among a l l the fami l ies moved , o n l y one , t h e Bascom
Bridgeforth fami ly , rece ived any help from the agency .
After Bridgeforth refused to move , the agency f ina l ly got
i nvo lved .
As h i s son , Wi l l i am , reca l l ed :
They started negot iat ing and they were t a l k i ng
about $ 1 7 . 5 0 an acre and he absolutely r e fused to take
that . They re-negot iated aga in for someth ing l ike $ 2 5
a n acre .
H e refused that .
He was s t i l l hang ing on .
Others around h im had sold and he s a i d ' no , I ' m not
going to s e l l .
I ' m going to Oh i o .
I ' ve got a l awyer
up there and you a l l are j ust trying to take my land . '
S o , h e d i dn ' t
He was j ust bluff ing about the l awyer .
s e l l unt i l they o f fered h im $ 5 0 and he t ook $ 5 0 .
Whites d i dn ' t have any probl ems gett ing the i r $ 5 0 , but
l ot s of black peop le s o l d for a l ot l e s s than $ 5 0 . 30
As Bascom Br idge forth found , TVA treated b l a cks and
wh ites d i f ferent ly , and the only way the b l ack community
wou l d rece ive equal treatment was to make demands .
George
Ruf f i n Bridgeforth d i scovered the same to be true when he
began dea l ing w i th the agency .
Returning to Limestone
2 8 W i l l i am Br idge forth , persona l interview , December ,
198 3 .
29 Tennessee Va l l ey Author ity , " Fam i ly Case S ummary
Sheets " a nd " Co l ored Farmers Re l ocated , " ( Knoxv i l le : TVA
Techn i c a l L i brary ) , and TVA 9 7 0 Surveys .
3 0 Wi l l i am Bridgeforth , persona l interv i ew , December ,
198 3 .
47
County i n 1 9 3 3 , he made h i s home i n Athens , and frequent ly
v i s ited his f arm and f am i ly in Beu lah l and .
After a l i f e
spent teach i ng agr i cu l tura l theory , h e now h a d the t ime and
opportun ity to put that theory into pract i c e .
Dur ing the
next f ive years he corresponded regu l arly with TVA in an
attempt to get the agency ' s a s s i stance and approva l for a
ser i e s o f proj ects to benef it what rema ined o f Beu l ah l and .
He began wr it ing l etters to the agency i n 1 9 3 4 , and the
ensu ing correspondence reve a l ed not only Br i dgeforth ' s
v i s i on o f what the community cou ld be , but a l so h i s w i l l ing­
ness to forge beyond that v i s ion into the rea lm o f bl ack
equa l ity .
I n addition , the l etters i l lustrated how TVA
perceived blacks in general and the Beu lahl and commun ity i n
part i cu l ar , as we l l race relations between t h e agency and
the peop l e it was created to serve .
The letters a l so ref l ected the conf l i ct with i n TVA over
how to deal with the black popu l at ion .
O f f i c i a l s l ike A . L .
Sne l l and w . G . Carnahan of the Fami l y Remova l S ection ,
represent i ng the more l iberal view , tended to support
Bridgeforth ' s propos a l s , and a ct ivel y worked to get them ap­
proved .
They never indi cated that Bridgeforth ' s mot ives
were l e s s than s incere and seemed to recogn i z e h i s concern
for the commun ity ' s we l fare .
These s ame o f f i c i a l s were a l so
the ones express ing concern for the agency ' s adverse a f f ect
on the peop l e of the Wheeler Res ervoir .
At one po int , Car-
48
nahan , stated that he be l i eved the agency shou l d do everyth ing poss ible to accommodate the community in " v i ew of the
rather d i f f icult problems we face in the readj ustment o f
Negro popu lation . " 31
H e had v i s ited the community and was
" qu ite impres sed with the att itude o f the Negroes we inter­
viewed . "32
These o f f i c i a l s l e ft TVA by 1939 , however , and
with them went the agency ' s concern for the spec i a l probl ems
o f b l a cks i n the Tennes see Va l l ey .
Oppos ing th i s faction were those o f f i c i a l s who came to
dom inate and contro l TVA a fter 1939.
Not want ing to o f f end
l oca l wh ites , they worked within the confines of southern
rac i sm .
Most o f these o f f i c i a l s were l ocated i n Knoxvi l l e ,
never had d irect contact w ith Bridgeforth or the commun ity ,
and yet questioned Bridge forth ' s i ntegr ity and mot ivat i ons .
They a l so made the f in a l dec i s i ons concern ing the community .
For instance ,
i n denying h i s request to use br i cks from an
o ld house on TVA property to construct a c lub house for the
proposed recreation area , Bridgeforth was character i z ed a s
" a troub l e maker and the Author i ty shou l d have a s l it t l e to
do with h im as pos s i b l e . " n
On another occas i on , John Nee-
l y , who never met Bridgeforth , referred to h im a s " that
31 W . G . Carnahan to L . N . A l l en , 2 2 June 1938.
n
C arnahan to A l l en .
33 Nancy Grant , " B l acks , Reg iona l P l ann i ng , and the
TVA , " d i s s . , U o f Ch i cago , 19 7 8 , 2 7 8 .
49
col ored man who has caused the Author ity more troubl e i n the
operat i on of its lands than a lmost anyone e l s e . " 34
TVA
management was obviou s ly not used to deal i ng with outspoken
and assert i ve blacks .
Br i dgeforth ' s f irst request to the a gency ,
i n 1934 ,
in-
volved establ i shing " a new commun ity with mode l s choo l
f ac i l i t i e s , a town church , and a recreat i on center" with a
modern san itat ion and water system . 35
I n i t i a l ly TVA was
interested i n the rel ocat i on o f ent ire b l ack commun i t i es ,
and even ta lked of f inding " i so lated areas away from wh ites "
for the commun itie s . 36
The agency later backed down on th i s
idea and decided that loca l agenc ies shou l d a s sume respons i b i l ity for dec i s i ons regard ing these b l a ck commun i t i e s .
As
a result , the agency ' s pos it ion wa s to " unof f i c i a l ly d i s courage the deve l opment " of Br idgeforth ' s proposa l .
Th i s
dec i s i on was a l so ba sed on a n agency report character i z ing
h im a s a " w i l y entrepreneur more interested i n s e l l ing h i s
tracts of l and to relocated fam i l i es than bu i lding a mod e l
community f o r humanitar ian purpose s . 11 37
As a resu lt o f thi s
report , s ome TVA o f f i c i a l s doubted Br i dgeforth ' s mot ives .
34 John Neely to L . N . A l l en , 30 August 1 937 ,
in Grant , 2 7 8 .
35 Grant 2 73 .
3 6 Grant 2 7 2 .
37 Grant 2 7 4 - 2 7 5 .
as quoted
50
There may have been some truth to the ir be l ie f s ,
for a fter
a l l Br i dge f orth ' s examp les came from the S outhern Improvement Company and the Tuskegee Sma l l Farm Company , both o f
wh ich were started with pro f i t as the pr imary goa l .
What TVA admin i strators f a i l ed to rea l i z e i s that the
two mot ives of pro f it and publ i c service d i d not nece s s ar i ly
conf l ict . George Bridgeforth a lways had at heart the i nterests o f the commun ity and less fortunate b lacks . 3 8
Br idgeforth ' s next propo s a l i nvolved creat ing a b l ack
recrea t i on area next to the Beu lahl and schoo l .
A . L . Snel l ,
head soc i a l worker of the Fam i ly Remova l S ec t i on for the
Wheeler Reservo i r , recommended that TVA comp ly with the
request ,
for the community had " suf f i c i ent interest and
inf luence to make th i s a worthwh i l e pro j ect . " �
In l etters
to Bridgeforth , Sne l l indi cated that the propos a l wou l d be
approved .
What the agency f a i l ed to te l l Br idgeforth was
that they had quest ions regard i ng " the att itude o f white
peop l e near th i s l ocat i on , and the l ik e l ihood o f the ir
mis interpret i ng a lot of noise and h i l ar ity for undes irable
38 Dat i e Rus se l l , persona l i nterv i ew , Ju ly , 1 9 8 9. I n
th i s i ntervi ew Ms . Rus s e l l spoke o f her f ather ' s upbr inging
o f h i s chi l dren . Even though they were r e l at ively better o f f
than some b l ack f ami l i es , he admoni shed them t o a lways
cons ider the we l f are of a l l b lacks . Dur ing the summer s , the
daughters were encouraged to teach in rura l b lack com­
mun i t i e s in order to see how poorer b l a cks l ived and to be
o f a s s i stance to thos e peop l e .
� A . L . Sne l l to w . G . Carnahan , 9 Ju l y 1 936 .
51
behavi or . "�
They even went so far a s to contact a l l the
wh i t e landowners and renters near the property ,
inc lud i ng
he irs to one p i ece o f land who l ived i n Kentucky , to g a i n
the i r perm i s s i on for the proj ect .
When one o f the he irs
que stioned what the park wou l d do in terms o f the res a l e
va lue of the l and , Sne l l a s sured h im that i f wh ite prospective buyers obj ected to the park ,
down .
i t wou l d be c losed
Even a fter receivi ng a sat i s factory ana lys i s from the
hea lth d iv i s i on concern ing sanitat ion and mosqu ito contro l
at the proposed s ite , TVA management w ithhe l d its approva l
of the park , and eventua l ly Br idge forth ' s request wa s
she lved . 4 1
One inc ident in part icular i l lustrated the comp l ex ity
of the r e l a t i onship between Br idgeforth and the agency .
When f irst approached about s e l l ing the ir l and , the B eu lahl and farmers were promi sed that " i f the author i ty ' s l ands
were ever used by pr ivate individua l s the f ormer owners
wou ld have the ' refusa l ' or f irst chance at its use . "G
For
severa l years after remova l , Beu l ah land f armers were a l l owed
to use the ir former lands for pastur ing , hay , and water for
� A . L . Sne l l to W . G . Carnahan ,
16 June 1 936 .
4 1 TVA correspondence f i l e , B eu l ah l and Commun ity , June­
Ju ly 1 936 .
42 Bascom Br i dgeforth and P l e a Orr , Letter t o H . A .
Morgan , Apr i l 1 9 38 , TVA Techn i c a l Library , Knoxvi l le .
52
l ivestock .
I n the spr i ng o f 1 9 3 8 , however , TVA turned the
l and over to the Limestone County So i l Conservat i on D i s tr i ct , a n agency sta f fed s o l e l y by local whites .
Within a
f ew weeks , the tractors o f white l andowners moved across the
f i elds wh i ch ,
in the previ ous f a l l , had been prepared by the
black f armers with the ir mu l e-drawn mowers and pans .
Convinced the agency was conspir ing aga inst them , the
b l ack farmers of Beu l ah land and Orrsvi l l e , a nearby commun ity , f ired o f f letters to H . A . Morgan , TVA board member ,
and Wi l l A l exander , D irector o f the Farm S e cur ity Adm i n i strat i on .
Ca l l ing themse lves the Beu l ah-Orrsvi l l e Co-
operat ive Marketing As sociat i on , they spoke o f the ir probl ems :
our money crop i s being threatened by reduc­
ing our cotton acreage and we must turn to l ive­
stock and other crops for support for our f am i ­
l i es , and to pay our taxes . We turned over our
l itt l e homes in many cases aga inst our w i l l w ith
the sacred prom i s e that the owners woul d have
chance to use the l ands they sold not covered by
water . . . . We sha l l l ook with great d i s favor on
the b i g seed growers from other sect i ons u s ing
these l ands that were prom i s ed . �
George Ruf f in Br i dgeforth ' s l etter to Wi l l A l exander
was even more d irect i n d e f in i ng the probl em as one of wh ite
versus b l ack , and sma l l l andowner versus l arge , mecha n i z ed
operat i ons :
43 Bascom Br idge forth and P leas Orr to H . A . Morgan ,
Apr i l 1 9 3 8 .
53
Last year a l l of our l ittle farms where we
had tr i ed to make some k ind o f l iving for our
f am i l i e s and pay our taxes , were turned over to
the big men of the county that cou l d a f ford t o buy
tractors and combines . . . . There can be no que s ­
t ion about i t w a s a l l s e t u p f o r a f ew b i g men
from the towns and other sect ions . . . . The TVA
agent i n Decatur , Mr . M . w . Rice , seems to be the
Un less we can get some
p oor man ' s worst enemy .
r e l i ef and get the cont inued use of our l ands
taken from u s there w i l l be about 2 5 c o l ored fam i ­
l ie s s oon to g o o n re l ie f . «
These l etters were referred to the manager o f Musc l e
Shoa l s Propert i e s , John Nee ly , who served as the d irect
l i a i s on between the TVA board and the northern A l abama
divi s ions o f the agency .
Neely in turn ref erred the matter
to L . A . A l len , the Re servo ir Property Manager i n Knoxvi l l e ,
d irecting Al l en to request a wr itten report f rom W . M . R i c e ,
the department ' s representative i n Decatur .
After contact-
ing the commun ity , Rice determ ined that :
The r e a l reason and exp l anat ion to the i r
l etter i s that they , l ike most sma l l farmer s , are
i n bad f inanc i a l cond i t i on and i n an e f fort to
better that condit ion seek the use o f i d l e TVA
property whi ch they be l i eve can be had for l itt l e
o r noth ing per acre . �
R i ce a l so drew up a chart i nd i cat i ng the number o f
acres each farmer had s o l d to TVA , how many a c r e s rema ined ,
the number o f acres each had bought , and the number o f acres
under cul t ivat i on .
1 9 3 8.
Us i ng th i s data , R i c e concluded that :
« George Ruf f i n Bridgeforth to Wi l l A l exander , Apr i l
� W . M . Rice to John Nee ly , 2 3 Apr i l 1 9 3 8 .
54
A l l o f them are j ust a s we l l o f f and s evera l
are i n better condit ion than before the s a l e of
property to TVA .
The method and mode o f l i fe i n
these commun ities i s equa l to o r better than in
the past . �
R i ce ' s ana lys i s of the s ituation was based on the fact
that s ix o f the the twe lve landowners had increa s ed the i r
acreage .
H i s appra i s a l , however , fa i l ed to note the qua l ity
of the l and .
The land in quest ion was ,
i n fact , h i l l i er and
not as fert i l e as the land that had been taken by TVA .
At
the same t ime , the acreage of the rema in ing s i x owners had
actua l ly decreased . �
Wh i l e Rice ' s eva luation o f the s ituation was accepted
by h i s super iors , he a l so had h i s cr i t i c s .
W . G . Carnahan ,
Popu l at ion Read j ustment Adv i s or , noted that ''Mr . R i ce ' s
appra i s a l of whether or not the Negroes are adverse ly a f fected by the TVA program i s s l i ght ly opt im i s t i c and m ight
not bear c l o s e examination . "a
The Beul ah l and res idents
were not the only relocated farmers with th i s problem .
In
i t s f in a l report on readj ustment for a l l f am i l i e s , the
Reservo ir Fam i ly Remova l Sect ion noted that only e ight
percent o f the new farms had " better l and and lay o f s o i l , "
whi l e 6 9 percent were removed to l and that was " genera l ly
� Rice to Neely .
� Rice to Nee ly .
a w . G . Carnahan to L . N . A l l en , 2 2 June 1 9 3 8 .
55
poor and less satisfactory than l and on whi ch the f am i ly
former ly l ived . "�
I n spite o f Carnahan ' s remarks , the
agency refused to make any conces s ions to the Beulahland
farmers .
Neely suggested that nothing be done for the
moment , apparent ly in the hope that the probl em wou ld
d isappear .
T i red o f wa i t i ng for the agency t o act , Br i dgeforth put
yet another proposa l before TVA .
Thi s propos a l not only
ref l ects what he prece ived to be the perfect so lut ion to the
prob l em , but i t a l so l a id forth h i s thoughts concern i ng the
future o f the b l a ck farmer in the South--thoughts that
sounded a great deal l ike those of Booker T . Wash i ngton i n
the ear ly twent i eth century :
That a l l l ands formerly owned by the S outhern
Sma l l Farm Land Company . . . be used for educa­
t i ona l and demonstrat i on purposes to teach the
co l ored peop le better methods of farm i ng , manage­
ment , s o i l bu i ld ing , the keep ing o f 6 0 - 1 0 0 cows
with pure bul l s . . . and the growing of truck and
market ing the same in a cooperat ive manner .
Such
a po l i cy wou ld remove thes e l ands in the community
from the present system as we l l a s remove doubt
and fear now ex i s t ing .
A demonstrat i on in l iving
at home . �
Though the propos a l for a demonstrat ion f arm was never
t aken ser i ou s l y by t op management in the agency , s evera l
� Tennessee Va l l ey Author ity , '' Popu la t i on Readj ustment
Wheeler Area , " ( Knoxvi l le : TVA , 1 9 3 5 ) 1 3 .
50 George Ruf f i n Br idgeforth to G . B . Phi l l ips and M . w .
Rice , 2 3 May 1 9 3 8 .
56
l oca l o f f i c i a l s be l i eved Bridgeforth ' s suggest i on had mer i t .
Both Carnahan and M . A . Wi l son of Reservo i r Property Manage­
ment be l ieved the idea was workabl e and encouraged manage­
ment to ser i ou s ly con s i der the propos a l .
I n sp ite of the i r
recommendat i on t h e p l a n f a i l ed to win approva l , a n d th i s was
the last t ime Bridgeforth requested a s s i stance from TVA . 5 1
5 1 C arnahan to A l l en .
57
CHAPTER V
CONCLUS I ON
Thi s l a st encounter with TVA d i d , however , br ing about
change in the Beu l ah land community .
I n Rice ' s r eport to
Neely , he r ea f f i rmed the growing tendency within the agency
to w ithdraw support from the sma l l f armer and encourage
deve l opment o f corporate , mechan i z ed operat i ons :
The whole troub l e l i es i n the l ack o f e f f i c i ent
organ i z at ion in the farming industry wh i ch we a l l know
about .
The Author ity , of course , i s not respons i b l e
f o r that but the ir probl em i s referred to the Author ity
because we have idle l and . . . . They resent the fact
that l a s t year few of them were able to get s eed sowing
contract s .
The answer to that i s - -due t o the ir sma l l
means i t was not pract i c a l to g ive them contract s .
They were not equ ipped to save seed and were unable to
get that equ ipment . 1
I t was a v i c i ous c i r c l e :
they were to b l ame for the i r
prob l em because they were ine f f i c i ent and sma l l , but becaus e
they were i ne f f i c ient and sma l l they cou l d not improve the i r
opera t i ons .
Therefore , the seed contracts went to the l a r -
ger , wh ite f armers who had the resources .
The Bridgeforths were not the kind o f peop l e to stand
by and l et opportunity pass .
Within a year , both George and
Bas com Bridgeforth purchas ed tractors , and ,
shor t l y after
that , both started the f irst da iry operat i on s i n the coun-
1 Rice to Nee ly .
58
ty . 2
For severa l years , George Bridgeforth organ i z ed the
res i dents o f Beu l ahland in cooperat ive garden ing proj ects ,
and he a lways took t ime to teach management and farming
pract ices to young farmers i n the commun i ty . 3
B r i dgeforth ' s efforts to improve the commun i ty d i d not
end w i th agr i cu l tural i nnovat i on , however .
Rea l i z ing eco-
nom i c success wou ld not ensure black equa l ity , he began
work ing to improve the education o f bl acks in the county ,
and pushed for equa l pay for b lack and wh ite teachers . 4
In
1 9 3 3 , B r i dgeforth became one o f the f irst blacks i n the
county to regi ster to vote s ince the early 1 9 0 0 s , and he
cont inued to encourage voter regi strat ion among blacks up
unt i l the t ime of h i s death i n 1 9 5 4 . 5
To the end , George Br idgeforth per s i sted i n h i s dream o f
the i ndependent b l ack farmer , a dream he erroneous ly bel i eved was shared by TVA .
Shortly before h i s death he heard
that TVA was having a huge parade in Athens to c e l ebrate the
accomp l i shments o f the agency in northern Al abama .
Rea l i z -
i ng that TVA had fai led to s o l i c i t black representat ion- - in
2 Darden Bridgeforth , persona l i ntervi ew , July 1 9 9 0 .
3 Wi l l i am Br idgeforth , person a l i nt ervi ew , December
1983 .
4 Dat i e Russe l l , persona l interview , July 1 9 8 9 .
5 Limestone County , Po l l Tax Record s , 1 9 3 3 - 1 9 5 4 , and
Wi l l i am Bridgeforth , person a l interview , December 1 9 8 3 .
59
a n area where blacks accounted for one-quarter o f the pop­
u l a t i on--Br idgeforth decided to enter a f l oat .
h i s own expens e to construct the f l oat .
He went to
A long w i th P l eas
Orr , a n e i ghbor , he created a scene represent i ng the sma l l
f armer i n the Tennessee Va l l ey .
The f l oat cont a i ned a farm
comp l et e w i th machinery , rep l icas of farm anima l s , an
electr i c fence , a pasture , and var ious k inds of crops .
Bridgeforth inc luded TVA on the f l oat- -the agency repre­
sented agr i cu l ture in genera l .
Wh i l e he may have had TVA on
the f l oat " repres ent ing" agr i cu l ture , the " rea l " l ooking
f arm on the f l oat wh ich was his idea l was iron i ca l ly never
shared by TVA- - i n fact , TVA ' s " r ea l " farm wou ld have been
white agribus ines s .
Today , many of the Br idgeforth f am i ly st i l l l ive i n
Beulahland .
The dream o f independent l andowner and farmer
s t i l l l ive s on in the fami ly .
Darden Br idgeforth came back
into farm i ng i n 1 9 4 5 a fter work ing with h i s father , Ike ,
the t imber bus iness f o r many years .
in
Today , he and s i x o f
h i s sons , who cho se to f o l low h im into agriculture , own over
1 , 4 0 0 acres and rent another 5 , 1 0 0 acre s .
They run one o f
the l argest black farming operat i ons in Alabama today .
BI BLIOGRAPHY
61
B I BLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCES
Census Data
United States .
Census Off ice .
Seventh Censu s :
Popu l a t i on .
Washington : GPO , 1 8 5 3 .
Reoort on Cotton Product ion in the United
Washington : GPO , 1 8 8 4 .
Al abama .
1864 .
Manu scr ipt S lave Census
Pleasant Grove Beat # 7 .
E ighth Census .
�­
L imestone Countv .
Washington : GPO ,
Washington : GPO ,
1864 .
Manuscr ipt Census Limestone County . Alabama .
P l easant Grove Beat # 7 .
Wash ington : GPO , 1 9 0 2 .
Negroes in the
Wa sh ington : GPO , 1 9 1 5 .
19 2 2 .
192 7 .
1937 .
United
States :
Bu l l et i n
Census o f Agr i culture .
wa shington : GPO ,
Census o f Agr i culture .
wa shington : GPO ,
Census o f Agr i cu lture .
wa shington : GPO ,
129 .
Tax . Mortgage . and Deed Records
L imestone County , Alabama .
1877 .
Beat # 7 .
Tax Abstra ct .
Tax
Abstra ct .
1900-1905 .
Tax C o l lector ' s Cash Book .
1898-1906 .
Mortgage Record . Book 1 6 .
1875 .
Mortgage Record . B ook 1 8 .
1878 .
Mortgage Record , B ook 2 3 .
1881-18 8 3 .
P lea s ant
Grove
62
Mortgage Record , Book 3 0 .
188 6 .
Mortgage Record , Book 3 1 .
1887 .
Mortgage Record , Book 6 7 .
1903 .
Mortgage Record , Book 8 4 .
1897 .
Deed Record , Book 2 0 .
1880 .
Deed Record , Book 6 5 .
1885 .
Deed Record , Book 1 0 9 .
1910 .
Deed Record , Book 1 1 3 .
1911 .
Deed Record , Book 1 1 6 .
1910 .
Deed Record , Book 1 1 9 .
1913 .
Deed Record , Book 1 2 8 .
1913 .
Deed Record , Book 1 3 2 .
1914 .
Deed Record , Book 1 5 6 .
1918 .
Deed Record , Book 1 5 7 .
1917 .
Deed Record , Book 1 6 2 .
192 3 .
Deed Record , Book 2 2 5 .
192 3 .
Deed Record , Book 3 2 3 .
193 6 .
Corporation Appl ication .
1910 .
I nterviews
Bridgeforth , Darden .
Bridgeforth , Wi l l i am .
Russe l l , Dat i e .
Telephone I nterview .
Personal I nterview .
Personal I nterview .
Jul y 1 9 9 0 .
December 1 9 8 3 .
Ju ly 1 9 8 9 .
Reports and Letters
Tennessee
Va l l ey
Author ity .
" Fami l i es
of
the
Whee ler
63
Re servo i r
L i brary .
Area . "
193 5 .
Knoxvi l l e :
TVA
Techn ica l
Fam i ly Case Record Face Sheet ( Form 9 7 8 ) .
193 5 .
At l anta : Regiona l Archives Branch , Federa l Archive s
and Records Center .
19 3 5 .
Atlanta : Reg i on a l
Fam i ly Case Summary Sheet .
Archives Branch , Federal Archives a n d Record Center .
1935 .
Fami ly Remova l Questionna ires ( Form 9 7 0 ) .
At l anta : Region a l Arch ives Branch , Federa l Archives and
Record Center .
Land Maps , Wheeler Reservo i r .
g ineer i ng D iv i s i on .
Chattanooga :
TVA En-
Land Requ i s i t i oned for Whee ler Reservo i r --Limestone
Knoxvi l l e : TVA Technica l L i brary .
County .
1937 .
" Popu l a t i on Read j ustment Whee ler Area . "
v i l le : TVA Technical Library .
"Wheeler
Reservo i r --Co lored
Knoxvi l l e : TVA Techn i c a l L ibrary .
Farmers
Knox­
Relocated .
Bridgeforth , George Ruf f i n .
Letter to Wi l l Al exander .
Apr i l 1 9 3 8 .
Knoxvi l l e : TVA Techn ica l L i brary .
11
8
Bridgeforth , George Ruf f in .
Letter to G . B . Ph i l l ips and
M . W . Rice .
2 3 May 1 9 3 8 .
Knoxvi l le : TVA Techn i c a l
L i brary .
Carnahan , W . G .
Letter to L . N . Al l en .
Knoxvi l l e : TVA Techn i c a l L i brary .
Neely , John .
Letter to L . N . Al l en .
vi l l e : TVA Techn i c a l L ibrary .
Rice ,
W. M.
Letter to John Neely .
v i l l e : TVA Techn i c a l Library .
22
June
2 9 Apr i l 1 9 3 8 .
2 3 Apr i l
S ne l l , A . L .
Letter to W . G . Carnahan .
Knoxvi l l e : TVA Techn i c a l L i brary .
1938 .
9
July
1938 .
Knox­
Knox­
19 3 6 .
64
Art i c les
Wash ington , Booker T .
"A Farmer ' s Co l l ege
Wor ld ' s Work 13 1 9 0 6 - 1 9 0 7 : 8 3 5 2 -8 3 5 4 .
On
Whee l s . "
Books
Mather ,
Frank Mather .
Ch i cago : 1 9 1 5 .
Who ' s
Who
of
the
C o l ored
Race .
S ECONDARY SOURCES
Books
Cobb ,
James c . and Michae l V . Namorato , eds .
The New Dea l
and the S outh .
Jackson : UP o f M i s s i s s ipp i , 1 9 8 4 .
Davi s , Char les s .
The Cotton Kingdom i n Alabama .
d e lph i a : Porcup ine Press , 1 9 7 4 .
( Ph i l a -
Edwards , Chr i st i ne and Faye Axford .
Lure and Lore o f L ime­
stone County .
Tusca loosa : Porta l s Pres s , 1 9 7 8 .
Cotton F i e lds No More : S outhern Agr i cu l ­
F ite , G i l bert C .
ture 1 8 6 5 - 1 9 8 0 .
Lex ington : UP o f Kentucky , 1 9 8 4 .
Foner , Er i c .
Reconstruct i on ; Amer ica ' s Unf i n i shed Revo lu­
New York : Harper , 1 9 8 8 .
t i on .
Ham i l ton , Virginia Van der Veer .
Alabama :
H i story .
New York : Norton , 1 9 7 7 .
Har l an , Lou i s R .
Booker T . Wa shington :
kegee .
Oxford : Oxford UP , 1 9 8 3 .
A B icentenn i a l
the W i z ard o f Tus ­
Hermann , Janet Sharp .
The Pursuit o f a Dream .
Random House , 1 9 8 3 .
Kolch i n , Peter .
1972 .
First Freedom .
Westport :
New York :
Greenwood Pres s ,
McGee , Leo and Robert Boone , eds .
The B l ack Rura l Land­
owner-Endangered Spec i es : Socia l , Po l it i ca l , and Eco­
Westport : Greenwood Pre s s ,
nom i c Impl i cations .
1979 .
McMurry , L i nda o .
George Wash ington Carver .
ford UP , 1 9 8 1 .
Oxford : ox­
65
Me i er , August .
Negro Thought in Amer ica :
Arbor : U of Mich igan Pres s , 1 9 7 0 .
1 8 8 0- 19 1 5 .
Ann
From P l antat ion to
Meier , August and E l l iott Rudwick .
Ghetto .
New York : H i l l , 1 9 6 6 .
P ai nter , Ne l l I rvin .
Exodusters : B l ack Migration to Kansas
New York : Knop f , 1 9 7 7 .
a fter Reconstruct i on .
Ros e , W i l l i e Lee .
Bobbs , 1 9 6 4 .
Rehear s a l for Reconstruct ion .
New York :
Ransom , Roger L . and Ri chard Sutch .
One Kind o f Freedom :
The Econom i c Consequences o f Eman c ipa t i on .
C ambr idge :
Cambr idge UP , 1 9 7 7 .
Walker , Robert Henry , Jr .
H i story of L imestone County ,
A l abama .
n . p . : L imestone County Comm i s s ion and Robert
Henry Wa lker , Jr . , 1 9 7 3 .
Wright , Gavi n .
Old South , New S outh ; Revo lut ions in the
S outhern Economy S ince the civi l War .
New York :
Basic ,
198 6 .
Art i c l e s
Anderson ,
James D .
" The S outhern Improvement Company :
Northern
Cotton
I nvestment
Reformers '
in
Negro
Tenancy ,
1 9 0 0 - 1 9 2 0 . 11
Agr i cultura l H i story 5 2 ( 1 9 7 8 ) :
111-13 1 .
" B l ack Farm Operators
Coleman , A . Lee and Larry D . H i l l .
and Farm Popu lat i on , 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 7 0 : A l abama and Kentucky . "
Phylon 4 ( 1 9 7 9 ) : 3 8 7 - 4 0 3 .
F i sher , James s .
" Rura l Ownership o f Land by B lacks i n
Georg i a : 1 9 2 0 and 1 9 6 0 . "
Review o f B l ack Po l it i c a l
Economy 9 ( 1 9 7 8 ) : 9 5 - 1 0 7 .
F i sher , James S .
" Negro Farm Ownersh ip i n the S outh . "
Anna l s o f the Assoc . o f Amer i can Georgraphers 63
(�) :
4 7 8 -4 8 9 .
H iggs , Robert .
"Accumul a t i on o f Property by S outhern B lacks
before Wor l d War I . "
Amer ican Econom i c Revi ew 7 2
( 1982 ) : 7 2 5-737 .
Jame s ,
Fe l ix .
1 9 0 6 - 1 9 2 3 . 11
"The Tuskegee Inst itute Mova b l e S choo l ,
Agr i cu ltura l H i story 4 5 ( 1 9 7 1 ) : 2 0 1 - 2 0 9 .
66
Jones , A l len W .
" The Ro l e o f Tuskegee I n s t i tute i n the
Educat ion of B l ack Farmer s . "
Journa l o f Negro H i story
LX ( 1 9 7 5 ) : 2 5 2 - 2 6 7 .
Marab l e , Mann i ng .
" The P o l i t i c s o f B l ack Land Tenur e ,
1 8 7 7 - 1 9 1 5 . " Agr i cu l tura l H i story 5 3 ( 1 9 7 9 ) : 1 4 2 - 1 5 2 .
Margo , Robert A .
"Accumu l at ion of Property by S outhern
B l acks
before
Wor l d
War
I:
Comment
and
Further
Evidence . "
Amer ican Econom i c Review 7 4 ( 1 9 8 4 ) : 7 6 9 781 .
D i s s erat i ons
Grant , Nancy .
" B lacks , Reg i on a l
Diss .
u of Ch i cago , 1 9 7 8 .
P l anning ,
and
the
TVA . "
APPENDI X
68
Re l e ase
You
are
i nv i t e d
i nvo l vi ng
wi l l
t he
c o ns i s t
t a ped
or
oF
as
C yn t h i a
t he
be
Degree
any
c re d i t e d
The
topic
t he
B r i dg e f o r t h
1 84 0s .
T VA
any
t he s i s
at
I
h a ve
r e ad
a nd
p r o j ec t
t or i l y.
I
'// .
t L:<:4t'!t"�
____. �
S i g na t u r e
r e su l t
t he
from
i nf o r ma t i o n
o£
this
you
t he
Rec o nst r u c t i o n
dea l t
in
t he
6 1 5-
or
t hes i s
n o t es .
£or
K n o x­
You
t hes i s .
wi l l
p r o v i de .
c o mmu n i t y
t h r o ug h t
c ou r s e
p r ac t i ce s ,
o£
a nd
and
t he
t he
t he
efFect
c ommu n i t y .
and
wi t h out
p r o v i de
wi t h
3 79 2 0 ,
t ap e s
B eu l a h l a n d
ag r i c u l t u r a l
or
Carde n ,
T e n ne s s e e ,
o£
be
TN
C a r de n ' s
o£
vo l u n t a r y
ur.de r s t o o d
a nd
vol u n t a r
u7C
/..
Name
to
Ms .
to
n o t es
Nanc y
McD o na l d ,
p e r i od
t he
t i me
M i c hae l
access
in
The
o£
Kn oxvi l l e ,
o£
a u d i o-­
a nd
a ns we r s
you
ma y d e c l i ne
p e na l t y
to
any
or
or
w i t hd r aw
p re j u d i c e .
q ue s t i o ns
you
The
i nt e r ­
ma y
h a ve
p r o j ect .
history
� /
L/(
,;,/'/
�
hap p y
be
�ny
on
p r o v i de .
U n i ve r s i t y
t he
e i t he r
i de nt i F i e d
h i st o r y
h i st o r y,
1 93 0 s
wi l l
t he
t he
wi l l
t he
have
t hat
be
h i st o r y
p a r t i c i pat i o n
p os se ss i o n
Ap t . 4 ,
used
£or
t hat
p a r t i c i pat i o n
a b o ut
work
i s
f ami l y
p a r t i c i pa t i o n
be
a r t i c l es
t op i c s
in
be
be
you
t he
oral
Your
wi l l
wi l l
£ r om t he
t he
Your
wi l l
wi l l
from
f r om
vi ewe r
wi l l
History
wr i t t e n
t ha t
c o ns i st i ng
C ob b ,
you
in
o£
A l abama .
You
A ve nue ,
Fami l y
i nc l ude
r e mo va l
by
in
g a t he r i ng
i nF o rmat i o n
r e ma i n
Se v i e r
p ub l i shed
t he
P o ss i b l e
i nt e r v i e w
o£
or
in
not es .
t he
wi l l
James
t he
i nt e r vi ews
c o mmi t t ee ,
p r o v i ded
Mast e r ' s
o£
in
B e u l ah l a n d ,
mo r e
3001
t he s i s
a nd
o£
wr i t t e n
source
F l e mi ng
a nd
or
l n
i nt e rv i e w
Her
I nF o r mat i o n
vi l l e ,
o ne
D i r ec t o r ,
5 73 - 9 84 8 .
t he
o£
your
Proj ect
p a r t i c i pa t e
r e c o rded
c redi t ed
tape
to
c ommu n i t y
Form
have
�t Y
t. h i s
had
agree
to
j / 4fr.r
I)
7 1
y oa.
/' -·
•
'
e xp l a na t i o n
my
q ue s t i o ns
o f'
about
p a r t i c i pat e .
...z...L__
�
Dat e
t he
it
Be u l a h l a nd
answe r ed
oral
sat i s£ac-
69
Re l e ase
You
a re
i nv i t ed
i n v o l vi ng
wi l l
t he
c o ns i s t
t a ped
or
or
P r oj ect
your
be
The
t op i c
t he
B r i dgeF o r t h
1 8 4 0s .
T VA
by
any
p a r t i c i pat i o n
wi l l
at
about
I
t he
have
read
a nd
p roject
tori l y.
I
���
to
p r o v i de
underst o o d
a nd
have
vol untari l y
t
1�
agree
Cc
S i g na t u re
this
had
"
-
i nF o r ma t i o n
or
t he
d ea l t
TN
wi t h
in
this
you
t he
3 79 2 0 ,
t ap e s
or
t he s i s
6 1 5notes .
ror
K n o x­
t hes i s .
You
w1 l l
p r o vi de .
B e u l ah l a n d
ag r i c u l t u ra l
or
T e n ne s s e e ,
t he
be
notes
N a n c y C a r de n ,
Carden ' s
r rom
c ommu n i t y
t h r ought
c ourse
p r ac t i ce s ,
of
and
a nd
t he
t he
t he
erfect
c o mmu n i t y .
and
wi t h out
a ns we r s
you
ma y
pe na l t y
to
any
e xp l a na t i o n
m y q ue s t i o ns
to
� .� L
or
about
dec l i ne
or
or
w i t hd ra w
p r e j ud i c e .
q u es t i o ns
n�
[ .
R-
L � l
�
t he
it
you
Be u l ah l a nd
a nswe r e d
p a r t i c i pa t e .
�
L
Date
Name
' ��
re s u l t
t he
Rec o n s t r uc t i o n
vo l u nt a r y
t i me
Ms .
to
and
The
i nter­
ma y
h a ve
p r o j ec t .
history
��
ha p p y
be
any
on
access
a ud i o ­
Mc D o na l d ,
or
h i st o r y ,
1 93 0 s
M i chael
U n i ve rs i t y
the
or
K n oxvi l l e ,
or
i n
The
or
wi l l
t he
t hat
p r o vi de .
p e r i od
t hat
fami l y
t he
e i t he r
i de nt i f i ed
p os s e ss i o n
Apt . 4 ,
used
be
h i st o r y
p a r t i c i p at i o n
h i st o r y
t op i c s
p a r t i c i p at i o n
be
t he
t he
in
be
ror
rrom
Your
wi l l
wo r k
is
t he
have
r r om
a r t i c l es
t he s i s
f r om
v i e we r
wi l l
be
you
oral
Your
wi l l
wi l l
consist i ng
wi l l
H i st o r y
wr i t t e n
t hat
Ave nu e ,
Cobb ,
you
in
or
A l a b ama .
i nF o r ma t i o n
rami l y
i nc l ude
remova l
i n
g a t he r i ng
You
r e ma i n
Sevi e r
p u b l i shed
t he
P o ss i b l e
i nt e r v i ew
or
or
i n
t he
James
Degree
any
notes .
c o mmi t t ee ,
and
t he
i n t e r vi ews
wi l l
300 1
t he s i s
p r o v i ded
c r ed i t ed
or
in
Beu l ah l a nd ,
more
s o u rce
F l emi ng
or
wr i t t e n
i nt e r v i ew
He r
and
or
i n
D i rect o r ,
Mas t e r ' s
vi l l e ,
o ne
t he
I nF o r mat i o n
t he
or
as
5 73 ·- 9 9 4 9 .
C ynt h i a
p a r t i c i pa t e
r e c o rded
c redi ted
tape
to
c ommu n i t y
F o rm
�
-
'i
l
o ra l
sat i s r a c ­
70
Re l e a s e
Yc•u
i n v i t ed
a re
i n vo l vi ng
wi l l
o ns i s t
�
t aped
of
P r oj ec t
t he
as
you r
._, a r t i c i p a t e
to
i n
t he
c o mm u n i t y o f' B e u l ah l a nd ,
of o ne or m o r e i nt e r v i ews
rec o r d e d
or
c re d i t ed
t a pe
t. h e
Form
i n
wr i t t e n
t he
of'
suurce
wi l l
l nt e r vi ew
notes .
g a t he r- i ng
t h at
You
in
wi l l
wi l l
i n f o r mat. i on
rem�i n
of
A l a b ama .
t he
h i £- t O J ' Y
part i c i pat i o n
be � i t he r
aud i
i de nt i f i ed
be
you
o r· a l
Your
T h �)
p r i) V_i ct e .
pos sess i o n
of
o­
a nd
notes
Nanc y
or
Car dE n ,
D i r-e c t o r . 3 0 0 1 S e v i e r A ve n u e , Apt. . 4 , K r. o xv 1 l l e , TN 3 18 2 0 ,
H e r· L he s i s c o mm i t. t. e e ,
c o n s i s t i n g o f !';i c h a e l Mc Ll u n a l d ,
F l e mi ng a n d James C o b b ,
w i l l h a ve a c c e s s t. o t he t a p e s o r
6 1 '··
S -:'3 - 9 9 4 9 .
C yn t h i a
n o t. e s .
p r ovided b y you wi l l
b e u s e d i n i"!s .
C a r d e n ' s t h es i s f' o r
Mas t e r ' s Deg ree i n H i s t o r y f r o m t he U n i ve r s i t y o f T e n ne s s e e , K n o x ­
vi l l e ,
a n d a n y p u b l i s h ed a r t i c l es t ha t r e s u l t f r o m t h i s t hes i s .
You w 1
b e c r ed i t e d i n a n y w r 1 t t e n wo r k f' o r t he i n f o r mat i o n y o u p r o v i de .
I nF o r ma t i o n
t he
T h e t o p i c of t h e t h es i s i s t h e h i s t o r y of
t he B r i d g e f o r t h f a m i l y f r o m t he p e r i o d o f
·1 d 4 0 s .
F o s s i b l e t op i c ': t hot wi l l be d e a l t
� nt e r v i e w
of
T VA
Yo u r
i Dc l ud e
r e rn o va l
in
f hm i l y
t he
p a r t. i c i p at i o n
B e u ! a h l a nd
V.'i t h
h i st or y .
ag r i c u l t u r a l
on
c o mmu n i t y .
1 930s
wi l l
t he
Rec o ns t
be
t he
vo l u n t. a t' Y
a nd
yo 1 1
i
r '�lC t.. i o n
r
t he
o f·
c o u rse
p r act i ces ,
rr•-" Y
c o mmu n i t y
t h r o ug ht
d e c l i ;o e
a nd
or
•
l l
and
t h E>
.... � 1 e
t he
ef£€ct
w i t hd r a t.J
f r o m p .:::. !�!.. i c i p a t, i o n at a n y t i me wi t h O '.J t pe n a l t Y o r· p r c c.i u d l c e . T h e i n ·L e r ­
'J i e we r wi l l b e ha p p y t o p r o v i d e a r 1S\.H? l S t. o u n y q lh� S t. i o r.s y o u ma y L a ve
a b o ut
h o. ve
t ho
proJec t .
r e i:> d
a nd
h i s � •J C' Y p r o J e c t
1
S i g n a t u r E':
u n de r s t o o d
and
have
th i s
had
my
e >cp l a n c.t t. i o n
q u e s t. i o ns
or
a b o u t;
i c i pa t e .
t he
i t�
t'. e u � a h l a nd
a n s w•: r · e d
oral
s a t. i s l-' a c -
71
VITA
Nancy Anne Carden was born in Knoxv i l le , Tennessee on
March 1 1 ,
1948 .
She attended e l ementary and s econdary
scho o l s in Flor ida and Tennes see , and was graduated f rom
C l inton H i gh School in C l i nton , Tennessee in June ,
19 6 6 .
She rece ived her Bache lor o f Arts degree i n H i story w i th
h ighest honors i n June ,
198 4 .
From 1 9 8 4 unt i l 1 9 8 6 , she was
a graduate and teach ing a s s i stant in the Department of
H i story at the Un ivers ity of Tennessee .
Her Ma ster o f Arts
degree in H i story was awarded in August ,
199 0 .
Between 1 9 8 6
and 1 9 8 7 , she wa s a Lyndhurst Fe l l ow i n the Department of
Educat i on at the Un ivers ity o f Tennes see .
The author i s current ly emp l oyed w i th the Knox County
school system .
She i s a member of Phi Beta Kappa , the
Nat i ona l Counc i l for Soc i a l Studies , the Nat i ona l Educat ion
Assoc i at i on , and Knox County Educat ion As s o c i at i on .