Cotton Press in Tarboro, NC - Agricultural History 1941

This vintage image showcases a mule-driven cotton press, an agricultural facility significant to the cotton industry in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, specifically in the vicinity of Tarboro. The cotton press, now largely obsolete, represents a crucial aspect of agricultural history, reflecting the labor-intensive processes that characterized cotton production in the region.

Captured by Frances Benjamin Johnston, a noted photographer of the early 20th century, this image is part of the Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South. The cotton press is documented for preservation, as it was relocated to a park in Raleigh, N.C., highlighting efforts to maintain the agricultural heritage of North Carolina.

Published in Thomas Tileston Waterman’s The Early Architecture of North Carolina in 1941, this photograph serves as a historical record, offering insights into the technology and methods used in cotton production during its peak. The image is a valuable addition for collectors and historians interested in agricultural history and the evolution of rural life in the Southern United States.