In 1919, the Townsends moved to Sunflower County, Mississippi to work as sharecroppers on W. D. Marlow's plantation. From age six Fannie picked cotton with her family. During the winters of 1924 through 1930 she attended the one-room school provided for the sharecroppers' children, open between picking seasons. Fannie loved reading and excelled in spelling bees and reciting poetry, but at age 12 she had to leave school to help support her aging parents. By age 13 she would pick 200–300 pounds (90 to 140 kg) of cotton daily while living with polio.