Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Transcribed by Sloan Mason. "Our Heritage" by Claude MOORE. Mt. Olive Tribune 26 May 1989 SAMPSON LEADS IN DIVERSIFICATION Since cotton became the principal money crop in eastern North Carolina in the early 1800's, the leaders warned us against one crop system since prices of many crops are determined by the demand on the world market. For a long time eastern North Carolina was also dependent on naval stores (tar, turpentine). The economic doldrums of the period from 1865 to 1918 were largely the result of the low prices of cotton. In the 1890's flue-cured tobacco began to be grown extensively in Wayne, Sampson and Duplin. This brought some prosperity to many farmers until the 1930's when the price of tabacco became so low that the federal government found it necessary to limit production. Last year tobacco produced in Sampson County sold for 29 million dollars. Farmers found it necessary to diversify. In 1892, green peppers were first grown for market in Sampson near Turkey and, by the 1930's Sampson led the state in pepper production. Last year, 3,500 acres of peppers were grown in Sampson which brought in nearly five million dollars and 350 acres of egg plants were grown which netted one half million dollars. I remember some 60 years ago when we raised our first egg plants and could not sell them. The hogs and cattle would not eat them and we did not know how to cook them. Now it is one of our favorite foods. Last year, Sampson grew 4,800 acres of sweet potatoes which sold for seven million dollars; 9,000 acres of cotton were grown which sold for three and a half million; 277 acres of peanuts which sold for one quarter million; 12,000 acres of wheat for one and a half million; 750 acres of oats were grown; 2,000 acres of rye; 200 acres of barley; 368 acres of grain sorghum; and 45,000 acres of soy beans which netted 10 million dollars. Of the 600,000 acres of land in Sampson County 212,000 is in cultivation. There are 4,450 farms. Sampson produced last year: 36,000 acres of corn which sold for seven and a half million; 970 acres of cucumbers sold for three and a half million; 700 acres of leafy vegetables sold for one and a half million; 2,750 acres of watermelons sold for two million; 100 acres of blueberries brought in two and a half million; 850 acres of squash for one million; 2,700 acres of hay was planted; and 350 acres of cabbage. Sampson County sold eight million dollars worth of lumber and a million dollars worth of pulpwood. Beef cattle sold for four million and milk was sold for one and a quarter million, hatching hen eggs brought in one and a half million, and turkey hatching eggs sold for a million. The county leads the state in hog production with sales last year reaching 66 million. Duplin county ranks second in the state in income from turkeys which brought in 31 million, and broilers, eight million dollars. Sampson County has a population of 50,000-5,000 of whom are employed in industries. Diversification has unlimited possibilities in Sampson, Duplin and Wayne since we have a variety of fine farm land and practically any crop grown in a humid subtropical climate can be produced here. The time will come when these counties will have many canneries and freezing plants. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sloan Mason ==============================================================