The Delta and Providence Cooperative Farms were started in

Bolivar County, Mississippi Bolivar County ( ) is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,985. Its county seats are Rosedale and Cleveland. The county is named in honor of Simón Bolívar, earl ...

, in 1936; and

Holmes County, Mississippi Holmes County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Yazoo River and the eastern border by the Big Black River. The western part of the county is within the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. As of the 2010 cen ...

, in 1939, respectively. The farms were founded and run by missionary evangelist and author

Sherwood Eddy George Sherwood Eddy (1871–1963) was a leading American Protestant missionary, administrator and educator. He was a prolific author and indefatigable traveler. His main achievement was to link and finance networks of intellectuals across the glo ...

, and Reverend Sam H. Franklin, with the goal of helping southern

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

out of their economic plight (caused in part by side effects of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

Agricultural Adjustment Administration The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...

). Eddy drew considerable support from his friend, the theologian

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of America ...

, who once called the farms "the most significant experiment in social Christianity now being conducted in America." The cooperatives were organized around four principles: efficiency in production and economy in finance through the

cooperative principle In social science generally and linguistics specifically, the cooperative principle describes how people achieve effective conversational communication in common social situations—that is, how listeners and speakers act cooperatively and mutual ...

, participation in building a socialized economy of abundance, inter-racial justice, and realistic religion as a social dynamic. In the early stages, many of the first cooperative members at the Delta Cooperative Farm were sharecroppers from eastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

who had been evicted following a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

.Delta and Providence Cooperative Farm Records, 1925-1963
in the

Southern Historical Collection The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...

at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Because the farms were committed to economic equality among races, all cooperative members were to receive

equal pay for equal work Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

. Agricultural operations included growing

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, dairy and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

farms, a

pasteurizing Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. Th ...

plant, and a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

. The cooperatives also provided a number of social and other services to members and the surrounding communities, including a cooperative store, a credit union, a medical clinic, educational programs, a library, religious services, and summer work camps for students. Due to several factors, including the tense political climate of the 1950s and poor cotton sales at Providence, cooperative efforts were abandoned around 1956, and pieces of the land were sold off to members.

References

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External links

Finding aid to the Delta and Providence Cooperative Farm Records
in the

at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Photographs of the Delta Providence Farm by Dorothea Lange
from the Library of Congress Bolivar County, Mississippi Holmes County, Mississippi Farms in Mississippi Former cooperatives of the United States History of Mississippi History of agriculture in the United States Agricultural cooperatives in the United States 1936 establishments in Mississippi 1950s disestablishments in Mississippi