Tobacco
Tobacco was all-invasive in the lives of those that grew it.
It was what is now called labor-intensive. The work began in January when the
grower cut wood to cure his crop. In February he cleared new ground for his
plant bed. And so the work continued throughout the year until December when he
tied up and carried the last of his crop to market. Then he began again.
Margie Waller Walton
A bill of sale dated 1901 showing that B F Waller sold
tobacco in Danville. The trip to carry the tobacco from Cody to Danville by
horse wagon would require a day and an overnight sleep on top of the crop
waiting for the market to open in the morning.
Jones Memorial Library via Jeanne Mead
Part of the inventory of the estate of Jennings Lane in 1919
includes one lot of tobacco sticks at $2. The leaves of tobacco were tied to
these sticks and placed in a log barn where heat from wood fires dried and
‘cured’ the tobacco.