Evolution of Agriculture

According to the archaeological record, tobacco was first domesticated in the Andes of South America thousands of years ago. Learn more.

c. 1640 – late 1700s

Windsor’s farmers first grew tobacco in 1640 using plants introduced from Virginia. It was grown with some success into 1800s, but it was mainly produced for home use and a modest amount was exported, and the quantity cultivated was small compared to that of other crops. Farmers who grew tobacco might avail themselves of helpful publications, such as the one above published in 1779.

c. 1810

The introduction and popularity of cigars in America from Cuba and elsewhere in the mid- to late-eighteenth century drove South Windsor’s agricultural expansion in tobacco cultivation. Read about Mrs. Prout and other South Windsor residents and the early manufacture of cigars.

c. 1830s – 1870s

Experiments made by B. P. Barber of East Windsor about 1830 with some Maryland seed produced a beautiful, finely textured, broad leaf, which was later developed into Connecticut broadleaf. Learn more.

1875

Broadleaf was the Valley’s sole tobacco product until Havana Seed tobacco was introduced in 1875. This was a smooth, good-looking leaf, which yielded a higher percentage of wrappers than Broadleaf. It became one of the popular domestic wrapper leaves until Shade Tobacco appeared after the turn of the twentieth century. Pictured above, Miller & Shepard tobacco sheds and field, around 1870s-1900. Image: J. E. Shepard Collection, 1998.32.537

1880
“Virtually everybody grew tobacco,” says Robert E. Raymond, looking back at growing up in South Windsor.
Joseph Vibert recalled, “We didn’t have that much lawn to mow [at 880 Main Street]. … The garden was right out the back door, but then the tobacco lot started right there.” Both were referring to the mid-twentieth century, but tobacco had been planted by South Windsor families on their properties since the 1800s. Pictured above is the Pinney place with a young tobacco crop from 1880.
Image: Connecticut Historical Society

1901-1921

In the first two decades of the twentieth century, tobacco growing expanded, giving rise to large- and medium-sized farms. Learn more about the Tobacco Boom.

1901-Shade tobacco is introduced in South Windsor

1916-Tobacco labor journal

1917-Tobacco and child labor

1917-South Windsor Tobacco Growers Association

1920-Shed Raising

1920s – 1930s

After reaching a high of 30,800 in 1921, acres planted with tobacco in Connecticut declined to fewer than 2,000 in 2010s.  Learn More.

The J. E. Shepard Co. established itself as a leader among South Windsor’s tobacco growers. Jean E. Shepard Sr. founded a small company to grow, sort, and sell product in Ellington, later moving to South Windsor. Learn More.

1960s – today

Acreage devoted to tobacco production continued to decrease. Farmers continued to turn to growing other crops and selling off land for non-agricultural uses. Learn More.

2018
The Town of South Windsor and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture jointly purchased the development rights to the 50-acre Shepard farm through the state’s voluntary Farmland Preservation Program, permanently restricting the use of the farm to agriculture only. This was in addition to the Shepard family preserving approximately 60 additional acres of farmland along the Connecticut River through the state program.