By Andi Anderson
Wood County is widely known as an agricultural powerhouse in Ohio, with more than 260,000 acres of farmland in production. Corn and soybeans are the leading crops today, and together they bring in nearly $8 billion statewide each year.
However, according to historic agricultural specialist Chase Fleece, the county’s farming history reveals a much more diverse mix of crops over the last century.
Fleece, who leads cultural programs at Carter Historic Farm and has worked there since 2023, explained during a Nov. 23 program that corn was always a major crop, but soybean production only began in 1930.
At that time, Wood County’s fields also grew specialty crops such as cucumbers, sugar beets, and tomatoes. When soybeans covered only 2,000 acres, sugar beets took up nearly 15,000 acres.
Federal support for commodity crops like corn and soybeans through subsidies and insurance encouraged farmers to focus more on these crops, while specialty crops received little support. But the story of tomatoes in Wood County stands out as especially significant.
Fleece shared that the region’s Black Swamp soil made tomato production extremely successful. This success led H.J. Heinz to open a major ketchup factory in Bowling Green in 1914, which stayed in operation until 1975.
The community embraced tomatoes so strongly that Bowling Green held tomato festivals in 1938 and 1939. Banners read “Tomato Land Welcomes You,” and in 1939, Jane Kramp was crowned Queen of Tomato Land. She received a trip to the Heinz facilities in Pittsburgh after being recognized for her “robust health, beautiful face, attractiveness of bodily form, radiant personality, graceful poise, serene charm and talent; those inherent qualities of the Wood County tomato, which make it the leader of all tomatoes produced.”
Tomato production reached its peak in 1940 with 4,669 acres, supported by migrant workers from Mexico who hand-picked the tomatoes. During World War II, an immigration “crackdown” reduced the workforce, and German and Italian prisoners of war from Camp Perry helped harvest the crop.
Labor disputes also shaped production. In 1978, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee led a national boycott of Campbell’s soup and local tomatoes. Campbell’s responded in 1979 by announcing they would only buy mechanically harvested tomatoes to “eliminate the farm labor threat.” While a 1986 agreement was reached, many farmers could not afford mechanical harvesters and stopped tomato production.
Though most specialty crops disappeared from large farms, Carter Historic Farm still grows beets, onions, popcorn, tomatoes, and squash. “One of the things we are looking into doing is expanding into these historically specialty crops,” Fleece said, noting plans to introduce sugar beets and programs showing how sugar was made in the 1930s.
Fleece’s next cultural program will explore the history of ice harvesting on Dec. 12 at Carter Historic Farm, with free admission and registration available through the Wood County Park District website.
Photo Credit: istock-pixeldigits
Categories: Ohio, Rural Lifestyle