Tobacco Barns Raising a Cash Crop, A way of Life in the South
The days of growing Tobacco as a cash crop have died away in the South. I can remember when you could drive along the highways and byways of Kentucky, Tennessee, The Carolina’s ,etc and see field after field of Tobacco growing. Acres and acres of this cash crop was grown yearly by farmers and this was the primary cash crop! In the fall of the year the Tobacco Barns were filled to the top with Tobacco! The tobacco crops were worked all summer, from planting, plowing, weeding, topping and cutting to grading and hanging. Some pressed tobacco into bails to take to the market.
The Tobacco Market here in our area was a bustling and booming place during these times! Tobacco growers from all over the State headed to the London Tobacco Barns as we called it! The old building is still there but now houses a Flea Market, of it did the last time I was by there. This crop was not only anticipated by Farmers but by the Vendors and Supply Stores as well because many Farmers had to depend on buying the things they needed on credit throughout the year and depended on selling the Tobacco Crop in order to pay for most or all of it.
The old Tobacco Barns varied in size and stature but they all had one thing in common, keeping the Tobacco dry while it hung in its rafters! A time gone by and almost forgotten by many and never known to some. I often wonder how many of the younger generation have any clue as to what the old barns were for. Yes, they held the Tractors, Mules, supplies, etc but for the most part their greatest value was to hang Tobacco in! They have been a staple here in Kentucky and the South for years and I hope many of them are preserved for the next generation.
The Horse Barns in the Bluegrass area of Kentucky are very elaborate and many are more beautiful that the homes the owners live in! There are also some very large Tobacco Barns in that area that held tobacco and it was farmed on a very large scale there! People would travel from neighboring States looking for work when it cam tobacco cutting time in the Bluegrass. They knew they could find work and lodging for a few weeks and it was one of the highest paying job of the year! Cutting and hanging tobacco was just a part of life here in the South and we became so used to it that we never paid much mind to it. Now you never hear of it anymore! I have handled many a stick of tobacco in my youth and been in several tobacco barns and I will always remember it with fondness. It was a time when families and neighbors came together and helped each other and enjoyed the simple times of life
Just Reminiscing!
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