Glass-plate photographs of early 1900s life in and around Ashland are back home for a while. The Charlie Cox Collection is on display at the Benton County Historical Courthouse and Museum through Nov. 2, according to the Southern Sentinel. The museum is hosting the exhibit with the University of Mississippi, which keeps the original negatives in its library’s Special Collections.
The exhibit gives Benton County residents a chance to see their own community as it looked more than a century ago, captured by a local man who carried a camera to his neighbors’ homes and farms.
Who Was Charlie Cox?
Charlie Whitfield Cox was born in Ashland in 1881. According to the University of Mississippi’s description of the collection, he may have been the person who brought photography to the area. He made his images on glass plates, an early photographic method that came before film.
Cox didn’t have a studio. The university says he traveled to the people he photographed, first on horseback and later on a Sears motorcycle. He worked with natural light and often brought along a painted canvas backdrop to set up a portrait wherever he went.
What the Charlie Cox Collection Shows
The photographs document Ashland and the surrounding parts of Benton County about 30 years after the town was incorporated in 1871. The subjects include:
Portraits of families, couples, babies, and schoolchildren
Farm animals and scenes of everyday work
Local landmarks, including a group gathered at the Benton County Courthouse
Town and street scenes, a cotton gin, and other glimpses of rural life
The university notes that the collection stands out because so much photography from that era focused on wealthy families. Cox photographed the wider community, Black and white residents alike, which makes his work a rare record of everyday people in a small Mississippi town at the turn of the 20th century.
How the Photos Reached Ole Miss
The glass-plate negatives were donated to the University of Mississippi’s Special Collections by Cox’s granddaughter, Judy Cox Andrews, who also provided background information about the photographer and his work. The university has since digitized the images and posted them in its eGrove online library, where anyone can browse them.
For many local families, the exhibit may hold a personal surprise. Many of the people in the photos are not identified by name, and seeing the prints in person could help longtime residents recognize a grandparent, a homeplace, or a familiar building.
Visiting the Exhibit
The Charlie Cox Collection will be on view at the Benton County Museum until Nov. 2. Anyone planning a visit should check with the museum ahead of time for current hours. People who can’t make the trip can view the digitized collection online through the University of Mississippi’s eGrove site.
The exhibit is one of the more unusual history offerings in North Mississippi this fall, and it’s a reminder of how much of Benton County’s past was saved by one photographer and the family that kept his work safe.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
