Understanding Strawberry Plains Through Landscape Archaeology

Strawberry Plains is a site that is located in Marshall County, Mississippi and is comprised of Woodland, Chickasaw, antebellum, and postbellum components. The focus of this thesis was placed on the postbellum time period. The information presented here is intended to give a comprehensive view into the lives of the sharecroppers that resided and worked on Strawberry Plains during the early to mid-twentieth century and also understand the economic relationship between them and the landowner. Also of importance to this project was the placement of the houses and their dispersed pattern across the landscape and comparing this pattern to other postbellum sites. By using landscape archaeology and employing methods that consisted of archival research, the locating of additional structures, and conducting an architectural survey on the sharecropper houses, an inclusive understanding of the sharecroppers of Strawberry Plains was attained