Slave Cabins on St. Catherine’s Island

Between 1883 and 1892, photographer William E. Wilson documented the lives of sharecroppers and day-to-day life in Georgia through his photography. Wilson made his living doing portraits but he had a passion for documentary photography. This type of photography focuses on capturing the everyday. Unlike a posed portrait, these photographs show a more unstaged view of life in the Savannah area during the late 1880s and early 1890s.

Former slaves in front of former slave cabins on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Photograph taken between 1883 and 1892 by William E. Wilson
Former slaves in front of former slave cabins on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Photograph taken between 1883 and 1892 by William E. Wilson. Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society.