The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-04-05
REIDSVILLE' PUSH
AS a TOBACCO MARKET AND
MANUFACTURING CENTRE
IT RANKS WITH THE
FIRST.
A History of the Growth of This To-
Made City--An Account of
its Warehouses and Factories
ReidsviIe Tobacco is Sold
All Over the World.

ingham county which Is noted as one
of the best tobacco counties in the far
famed home of the best tobacco grown
in the world. 1t not only produces
the best tobacco, but in quantity also
stands in the front ranks. Rocking
ham was one of the earliest counties
to make tobacco one of its staple crops.
Long time before the railroad was con-
structed through the county from
Greensboro to Danyille, the farmers OF
Rockingham were raising some eX.
cellent tobacco, and shipping it on
RATS on the Dan river to Danville, or
hauling in hogsheads in the ante-bel-
lum style to Lynchburg, the only mar
ket they could reach in those days.
They had not learned the method of
curing that has since revolutionized
the production of tobacco, but the rich
ness of the land used in the cultivation,
much of which was virgin, made up in
weight what the old-time tobacco
lacked in color.
All tobacco grown in the county be-
fore and during the war was sold on
the Virginia markets, but with. the
building Of the railroad to Danvillc,
the village of Reidsville early began
to divert the sale from the Virginia
markets to that place, and also to
draw tobacco from Henry and Pittsly-
vania counties, Virginia. The town
of Reidsville has grown from the
merest village, famed chiefly as the
home of the late Governor David s.
Reid, who was the first public man in
the State to break away from old and
hindering traditions and be elected
Governor upon the issue of Free Sur
frage. But with the return of
peace and the turning of the imple-I
ments of war into agricultural nipple
ments, Reidsville began to be a place
of promise. Its<future depended upon
the vim and energy and good judgment
of those who should be its pioneers in
business. Luckily those who came to
make town were mostly from the adj
jacent territory, men who knew the
farmers and all the secrets of tobacco
culture. They established a ware
house. they built stores. they started
factories, they built schools and
churches, and put down their stakes
like men who had faith ia their own
and the towns future And their
faith, added to their works, in the trae
proportion prescribed by st. James,
has made it in twenty years one of the
largest and most prosperous manufac-
turing towns i'm the Commonwealth.
Reidsyille has an electric light sys-
tenn that enables the good people Of
the town to LET their light shine.
Tt has II. S. post-office building,
erected by the Federal Government.
a neat and handsome structure that
is an ornament to the town. The Ma
tional Government never builds a
building in any town or city that is
not leading place. whenever you
are looking for a prosperous city, one
that is going forward, first see if it
has Federal building" was the adj
vice one man gave to friend not long
ago.
Reidsyille has fine churches, modern
stores, elegant residences, mammoth
factories, immense warehouses, strong
banks with ample capital, excellent
public and private schools, and every
other advantage for modern growing
young city. 1T also has cotton fac
tory, recently enlarged, which is one
of the largest plants in the State. But
It is not Of these things in themselves
that we speak to-day. lit is Of the foun-
dation upon which they rest, and OF
the source from which they have all
been built, and from which they are
al supported that we speak to-day.
Tobacco is the chief foundation stone
of Reidsyille's prosperity. It's sale |
and manufacture have brought most of |
the increase Of population from
struggling village to modern city Of /
five thousand progressive and wide-a-
wake men and women, who rank |
among the States most useful and |
patriotic citizens.
First, let us speak Of the tobacco as it |
comes from the fertile fields of Rock
ngham and adjacent counties, and is
piled on the spacious floors of the large /
modern warehouses. If an old-fash- /
oned farmer, who cultivated, wormed |
and cured his tobacco on the hills of |
Dan forty years ago could look upon
he piles of golden leaf some morning |
n the Reidsyille warehouses, his eyes
would open wide with establishment |
10 the biliowv sea Of golden leaf /
spread out before his vision. And i'd |
would surprise an up-to-date citizen |
who has not kept pace with Reidyille's |
$500 W. 60 q bODfA@AD maj hGAs W ste /
the immense quantities that find q |
daily sale on this market.
Not only has Reidsville a reputation
as one of the best tobacco markets, |
but it is particularly noted for certain
desirable types of sweet mahoganies, |
filters, and elegant favored
Tugs and cutters. The large orders
from tobacco manufacturers in this
country and abroad attest thar this
and high claim are well de-
served.
The men engaged in the tobacco
business here are wide-a-walee, emerge
tic, aggressive, and up-to-date. The
Reidsyille Tobacco Board of Trade is
Sne OF the towns leading institutions,
and exerts great influence in the
community. Mr.. r. M. Redd is Presi-
dent of the Board; Mr.. J. II. Burton,
Vice-President; and j. ID. Gwyn, Sec
rotary and Treasurer. The other
members of the Board are Messrs. ID.
r. Allen, Robert Hanes 81 Co, Watt,
Penn a. Co., K. r. Penn a. Co. II. F.