Daniels-Eisenstaedt Photo Tour: Warrenton
Daniels had written about Saturday afternoon in Warrenton in A Southerner Discovers the South. On Saturday, July 9, 1938, Alfred Eisenstaedt took dozens of photographs in the courthouse square to capture the scene.
A Confederate monument inscribed "Our Heroes" dominated the square, where black and white men lounged in separate groups.
Monument and men in and around the square-1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
Daniels and Eisenstaedt sat on the monument's pedestal-1, 2, 3, too, and Eisenstaedt's wife and two other men were part of their group. The young man with a camera around his neck may have been a photographer for Daniels's newspaper, the Raleigh News and Observer.
Many Warrenton residents were shopping that Saturday afternoon. A shot of the street taken from the corner of the square shows both the Salvage Store and Rose's 5-10-25 cent store. Closer shots show the crowds, including a young girl who seems to be dancing in front of the Salvage Store.
Street scene and stores-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Another attraction that Saturday afternoon was a mobile photo booth-1, 2, 3.
Two older white men were out for a stroll-1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
One of Eisenstaedt's photos show three white men lounging against a highway sign in the center of Warrenton. Another captures one the men watching a black family nearby.
Also on hand was Warrenton's police chief-1, 2, 3.
Finally, Daniels made sure that Eisenstaedt took pictures of an abandoned millinery shop-1, 2, 3 that he had described in his book as an emblem of Warrenton's past.
Move on to Arlington