SUGAR HILL AND STRING TOWN PORTRAITS, c. 1935

Some time in 1953 Helen Morrison and Carol-Lou Burnham made a driving trip to Kentucky. There is no record as to why they went, but it is known that they stayed with Laura (Mrs. Claude) Williams on a farm near Versailles in the Lexington region. There Helen had rare access to families who worked on the Williams farm, and she took some 435 photographs documenting them, the surrounding freed-slave communities, and other areas. Helen called this collection “Sugar Hill and String Town.” Besides individuals, photos include activities on horse farms and in tobacco fields, picnics, and street scenes. There are also a few movies.

These photos are at the Newberry Library in Chicago.