Tobacco Culture

Front: In 1892 Dr. C.T. Ford became the first tobacco grower in Mullins when he planted a small patch of Bright Leaf behind his home. Two years later, merchant William H. Daniel proved the viability of the crop by planting 8 acres, which he sold for a good price at the market in Danville, VA. Daniel would persuade his customers, many of whom were frustrated by depressed cotton prices, to plant tobacco. By 1895, many of the fields around Mullins were planted in the new boom crop. Reverse: Construction of the Planters’ Warehouse began in late 1894 and in August 1895 Mullins hosted its first tobacco market. By 1902, Mullins had two banks, three tobacco warehouses, four tobacco re-drying plants, and had become the leading tobacco market in the state. The early 20th century commercial buildings on N. Main St. and large homes on E. Wine St. remain as reminders of the prosperity that tobacco once brought to the town.