Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-11-12
ECIarksvIIIe as Tobacco Market
in KEer Early Days.


In writing to the Journal 1 fre-
quenuy aIlude to the rains or sea-
sons that "we'' get, etc. Now1et me
give you the geographical position
of this place and then you will see
what ssUen means. You will see
that Port Royal is right in the
heart of the Ciarksville District.
Port Royal is situated Oh Red Riv-
er (Which drains one of the finest
tobacco sections on the face OF the
earih) fourteen miles east of Clark5
vile and seven miles south OF the
Kentucky line, and is as said
above, right in the midst OF the
Clarksville region. The first ex-
tensive experiments that were ever
made in tobacco culture in the
Clarksville region We're made near
this place by emigrants from Vir-
ginia and North Carolina. As L
stated in previous article III the
journal, this section was peopled
by emigrants from Virginia and
North Carolina. Nearly every set
tier cultivated tobacco, but on a
very small scale, many only max
ing enough for home use. The
parties alluded to from Virginia
and North Carolina were the first
to engage in the cultivation of the
tweed" on an extensive scale.
PEOPLE had tobacco in "patches,
but they had fields of it. They pur-
chased and settled on lands on the
north side of Red River, but their
lands not proving sufficiently fer
| tile to make the business remunera-
tive, they broke up and moved to
within six or eight miles of Clarks-
vile, where their experiment ap-
pears to have been asucceSs. What
gigantic proportions the cultivation
Of tobacco has assumed since in this
| Western country.
At that time Clarksville was a
small village; and no one ever
thought of it being great tobacco
market; and Louisville, the great
est leaf tobacco market in the
world. was then small town on
the Ohio river; and Cincinnati, the
"Queen City of the West''-a city
that is outstripping all its rivals,
and reaching out to grasp the COM
meree of the South-Was at that
time a small town, and never
thought of as the great tobacco
mart that it is. When the weed
became a commercial product here
New Orleans was the nearest mar
ket, and it was all shipped there.
One, two and three cents per pound
was all the planter received for his
tobacco loose.
The production of the weed in
creased rapidly, and some one con-
ceiyed the idea of starting home
market at CIarksville, and now
CIarksville is the market for our
heavy tobaccos, and the weed is
"king" in eight counties-four In
Tennessee and four in Kentucky.
1t is our money crop, and II "hlng
Cotton" holds undisputed sway In
the Gulf States "King Tobacco"
does with us. Some want to de-
throne him, diversity our crops, but
/ say let him live.
Referring to Clarksville as to-
bacco market reminds me: Many
persons in Europe who are engaged
| in the tobacco business think that
| Clarksville is one of the largest cities
in the United States. Some years
ago a tobacco merchant received a
letter from a tobacconist in Liver
pool asking if he knew of a place in
the State of Tennessee called Nash
vile. 1 suppose he did.
/ referred above to the condition
of the growing crop, but said moth
ing about the acreage planted. L
think 60 per cent. of an average
crop fair estimate for this section,
and much of that is very late-as
planters put it, sit is not yet out
of the clods." Much of it will not
mature unless we have a dry, late fall.
The scarcity of plants was the cause
of it. / heard a planter say this
summer that there never would be
another small planting in this sec
ton for want of plants. 1t is fact,
and in a future article l propose TO
tell the readers of the Journal why.
You will hear from me every week
now until the crop is housed.
w. i. p.