Martha Alice Stewart Collection: Time on Parchman Farm, 1930s

The Martha Alice Stewart: Time on Parchman Farm 1930s Collection focuses on life inside Mississippi’s most notorious prison.

Martha Alice ("Alice") Stewart was born 20 February 1898. In 1925 she was appointed as a graduate nurse by the United States Veterans Bureau. She went on to work in veteran’s hospitals in Memphis, Tenn. and Outwood, Ky. before accepting the appointed position of Head Nurse at Mississippi State Penitentiary (commonly known as Parchman Farm) in 1930. Stewart remained at Parchman Farm until 1939.

The collection consists of nearly 200 black-and-white photographs documenting life inside the prison as well as some of Stewart's personal documents.

Photo from this collection: Group of white prisoners in infirmary (1930s)