BULLETIN 1404, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Table 4 — Chanqes in number 1 of white and colored farmers classified by tenure, 
Southampton County, 1900-1920 
Year 
Total 
farms r 
Percentage of all 
farms operated 
by— 
Percentage of all 
negro farmers that 
were— 
Percentage of all 
white farmers that 
were — 
Negroes j Whites 
Owners 
Tenants 
Per cent 
76.0 
Owners 
Tenants 
1900 - 
Number 
2,668 
2,873 
3,538 
Per cent 1 Per cent 
47. 6 ! 52. 4 
49.7 ! 50.3 
56.6 | 43.4 
Per cent 
24.0 
29.1 
28.2 
Per cent 
60.3 
Per cent 
39.7 
1910 
70. 9 58. 4 I 41. 6 
1920 
71.8 | 56.8 1 43.2 
i Excluding farms operated by managers. 
The numbers of owner operators and tenants for the two races are 
available on the county basis for the three census dates since 1900. 
(Table 4.) In 1900, negro farmers constituted 47.6 per cent of the 
total farmers in the county. By 1920 this percentage had increased 
to 56.6 per cent of all farmers in the county, the figures being calcu- 
lated by excluding manager-operated farms. During the same period 
the percentage of all negroes who were owners increased from 24 to 
28.2 per cent. On the other hand, not only did the whites decrease 
in proportion to all farmers in the county, but the proportion of all 
white farmers who owned the farms they operated decreased from 
60.3 per cent to 56.8 per cent. Between 1910 and 1920, however, the 
proportion of owner farmers decreased both for colored and for whites. 
SIZE AND VALUE OF FARMS AND OF FARM PROPERTY 
Detailed statistics concerning systems of farming were taken for 
261 farms in the section surveyed. Of these, 112 were tenant farms, 
and 149 were owned entirely or in part by the men who operated 
them. 
Table o. — Average size and valuation of farms and distribution of valuation of 
farm capital for different tenure classes 
Tenure class 
Opera- 
tors 
Average value per farm of— 
Average value per 
acre of— 
Average 
SSm I ! Buildings 
periaim A u f arm i Land and Equip- i other 
property ' buildings 
All tenants. 
All owners. 
Number Acres 
112 56. 9 !$2, 092. 00 $1, 663. 00 
149 < 149. 4 ; 7, 540. 00 I 6, 536. 00 
All operators. 
261 
109. 7 5, 194. GO \ 4, 437. 00 j 
The average size of the farms surveyed, for both tenure classes, 
was 109.7 acres, with an average valuation of $5,194 per farm (Table 
5), of which $757 was livestock and machinery. According to the 
census of 1920. the average size of all farms in the county was 83.3 
acres, valued at $5,377, including $811 worth of livestock and ma- 
chinery. Tims it will be seen that the farms for which the surveyed 
data were obtained are somewhat larger in acreage but had a smaller 
total value and a smaller equipment Value than the average? for the 
count v. 
