Many of the African Americans that came to Lee County were used to agricultural work and wanted to own their own land. By 1900 there were several dozen African American farmers in Lee County especially around Montrose and Croton. These farms were much like other farms in the area in which the entire family worked on the farm. However, African American farm families were not always asked to participate in neighborhood gatherings and frequently had to combat a sense of isolation.

Emmett and Sherida Dawson after they finished removing the grain from the stem of the oat plant called “threshing”, on their Lee County farm, circa 1930. ~Collection of AAHMCCI – Gift of Donna Harris