Written by Carter Hall on November 26th, 2019

Map of the Bright Leaf Tobacco Belt, ca.1965

Source: https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/9502

 

The birth of an economic boom was reportedly caused by a farmer accidentally falling asleep in 1839.

A slave named Stephen was the overseer of tobacco curing for a Caswell County farm. To “cure” tobacco was to burn it at extreme temperatures to change its color and prevent it from turning to dust and becoming unmarketable. One day, Stephen had fallen asleep next to the fire, its warmth evoking an obvious feeling of comfort and security. Hours later, he awoke to the fire nearly vanquished, having no usable source of fuel remaining. Quickly, Stephen threw some nearby charcoal into the fire to finish the process, but he had unknowingly done so much more. The charcoal-based fire, burning at a higher temperature, had donned the tobacco leaves with a yellow color, thus giving them the name “Bright Leaf” tobacco. (NCpedia 1)

 

As technology advanced, much of the Brightleaf tobacco harvested from fields was cured by something known as a “flue,” or a machine adjoined to a barn that let heat enter the structure without exposing the crops to smoke. Much of the recorded data about tobacco production in North Carolina refers to this type of tobacco as “flue-cured tobacco.” This variety of tobacco would dominate NC’s production for decades, as evidenced by the production of over 9.7 million pounds of tobacco in 1955, with the lowest known figure (as of 2017 data) at a mere 2.46 million pounds in 1921. (USDA 3)

 

The above map shows the extent to which the Brightleaf (alternatively spelled “Bright Leaf”) Tobacco Industry spanned between NC, VA, and SC around 1965. Emboldened on the map are export ports for the crop, located in Wilmington, Morehead City, and Norfolk, Virginia.

 

Source: https://www.leafonly.com/tobacco-leaf/tobacco-leaves/bright-leaf-tobacco-smooth


Sources:

USDA, 2018, Annual Statistical Bulletin, www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/AgStat/Section05.pdf.

“NCpedia: Bright Leaf Tobacco.” Bright Leaf Tobacco, 2019, www.ncpedia.org/anchor/bright-leaf-tobacco.

 

The sources for all images presented in their respective captions.

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