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At the age of fifty, Wilson Farm in 1936, was controlled by the R. E. Lee
Wilson Company owned in trust by the family of its founder Robert Edward Lee
Wilson (1863-1933). It was one of the largest cotton growing enterprises in
the world with 37,000 acres of farms, 25,000 of which were in the Wilson
vicinity. All the farming at Wilson was done by blacks with 1,000 mules
under supervision of farm managers. The 40 farm managers, each responsible
for 900-1000 acres, were provided with mules, plows and other farm
implements, attractive homes, garden plots and out houses, free wood and
water, a salary and bonuses. All business, entertainment and church
establishments were Wilson owned except for the electric company which had
been bought by Arkansas Power & Light Company in 1930 for one million
dollars. Three years later, the time these photographs were probably taken,
Wilson was composed of 11,000 people living in 2,200 houses working on
57,000 acres.
Photo: 4877-037
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