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June 3, 2007

Tomatoes carried CC through Depression

By Kelly Young

news@jacksonvilleprogress.com

As we look forward to the approaching 23rd Tomato Fest, it is also important to look back at the history of the tomato industry in Cherokee County and to remember festivals past.

The tomato industry began in Craft, near Jacksonville, in 1897. According to the Jacksonville Historical Commission, a refrigeration transit official came to town on peach-related business, peaches being the area’s cash crop at the time, when he advised local farmers of the area’s potential for excellent tomato growth.

The official recognized that Jacksonville’s rich, red earth and climate where very similar to those of Crystal Springs, Miss., an early tomato center. A small group of farmers joined together and decided to “experiment” by growing tomatoes here. The resulting success of this venture was far beyond anything they could have anticipated.

The first seeds were sown and Jacksonville’s first tomato harvest was enough to fill several cars. Texas shipped its first car of tomatoes from Craft on June 14, 1897.

The farmers responsible for bringing the tomato to prominence in Cherokee County were S.H. Jarratt, R.B. Jarratt, A. L. Dover, Joe Sharp, Tom Taylor, W.N. Goodson and C. A. Walker. Thanks to these men, Jacksonville would be home to a booming industry during a time when the country was facing the Great Depression.

C.D. Jarratt went to St. Louis to sell the first Craft tomatoes, and the money returns on the first crop of tomatoes was so surprisingly high that many more of the area’s farmers took to growing the red fruit. The first year’s crop filled six carloads. The second year’s crop jumped to 90 carloads.

When the industry peaked in the late 1920s and early 1930s, several thousand area farmers were primarily growing tomatoes, and hundreds more people were employed in the packing, shipping and sale of the tomatoes. The heavy production of tomatoes also sparked a healthy basket-making industry in the area, as baskets were needed to transport the ripe fruit.

During the peak of tomato production, it was not uncommon for the Jacksonville area to produce and ship 3,000 cars during a single growing season. It was this high volume and the superior quality of Jacksonville tomatoes that led the town to become known as the Tomato Capital of the World.

Jacksonville held its first Tomato Festival in 1934, according to Ann Chandler of the JHC, and it quickly became one of the biggest and best-known celebrations in all of East Texas. Festivities would often last for as long as a week, and included parades, pageants, music and other entertainment.

Perhaps the biggest event at each year’s festival was the coronation of the Tomato Queen. Often local dignitaries, including several Texas governors, would come to Jacksonville to crown the queen. Jacksonville held an annual Tomato Festival until 1941 when the outbreak of World War II called a significant portion of the county’s men away to war.

After the war the tomato industry dried up, and Jacksonville was forced to find other means of survival. To compensate for the lost tomato industry, local farmers turned to dairying, poultry and cattle raising – the latter of which has become the most successful. Today, the estimated acreage devoted to growing tomatoes is less than 250.

Decades passed and it seemed as though tomatoes would fade into the distant past, much as the cotton and peach industries had. In 1984, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce revived the tradition and launched the first Tomato Festival in almost 40 years. Although the events have changed, the spirit of the festival remains the same.

Entertainment at modern Tomato Fests has included street dances, car and tractor shows, salsa contests, concerts and tomato-eating contests.

The Tomato Fest has become an annual event, reminding Jacksonville residents of this important time in the history of their city.

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