The northern portion of CT straddling the CT river was rich in tobacco farming through the 19th and 20th century. As a result tobacco farms dotted the countryside and it’s almost impossible not to see dozens of them as you drive throughout the towns in this area. As a photographer and connoisseur of old barns I couldn’t help but take notice of the superior condition this tobacco barn was in. The owner has gone through great lengths to keep the exterior stained and the roof updated. Pretty much every old tobacco farm that I’ve seen has been withering in it’s natural state. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as the barn is maintained enough to hold form. However, seeing one of these old gems kept so pristine is a rarity and, I think, deserves applause. Old glory hanging so proudly and in such good condition was a BIG PLUS. GO U.S.A!!! I’m sorry to say that I was out shooting a lot that day and I lost track of where this barn sits but, to the best of what I can determine, I believe it to be in Suffield CT.
Suffield, Connecticut, has a rich history intertwined with tobacco farming. Tobacco became a significant crop in Suffield during the 1800s and remained a cornerstone of the town’s economy for much of the 20th century. The first cigar factory in the United States was established in Suffield in 1810, marking the town’s prominence in the tobacco industry.
Polish immigrants played a vital role in shaping Suffield’s tobacco farming landscape. Many Polish families settled in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, working on tobacco farms and eventually purchasing their own land to cultivate tobacco for cigar wrappers. This legacy of Polish tobacco farmers contributed to the town’s agricultural identity.
Today, while tobacco farming has diminished compared to its peak, Suffield still retains elements of its agricultural past, including small tobacco farms and other agricultural enterprises. The town’s history and connection to tobacco farming remain an integral part of its cultural heritage. *1
*1 Microsoft Copilot, additional sources suffield-library.com, suffieldhistoricalsociety.com and connecticuthistory.org
Photographed with a Sony A7RV, 61mp mirrorless camera and a Sony 24-70 f2.8 GMII lens @ 130mm using Sony’s proprietary “clear image zoom”.
1/1000th, f8, ISO 100, Aperture priority
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