Shade Grown Tobacco (Side 2)
Cigar wrapper tobacco was grown only in a small area of Georgia, Florida and the Connecticut River Valley from the 1840 s to 1975. During the 1890 s, wooden arbors began to be used to make the leaves lighter and thinner. Later, cheese cloth tents were used to filter sunlight and keep insects out. After World War II, production was mechanized, but the cultivation of tobacco still remained one of the most labor intensive crops grow. With the extension of wage and hour to farm labor, costs rose to $7,000 per acre making the growing of tobacco economically prohibitive.
Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission, Decatur County Commission and the Decatur County Historical Society, 1986.
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Coinseekers.