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Abbeville in Abbeville County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Marie Cromer Seigler

 
 
Marie Cromer Seigler Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008
1. Marie Cromer Seigler Marker
Inscription.
[4-H Symbol]
In Memory of
Marie Cromer Seigler
Native of
Abbeville County
Founder of 4-H
1883 - 1964

 
Erected by 4-H Club.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: AgricultureEducationWomen. In addition, it is included in the 4-H Youth Program series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1883.
 
Location. 34° 10.667′ N, 82° 22.533′ W. Marker is in Abbeville, South Carolina, in Abbeville County. Marker is at the intersection of Henry M. Turner Street and Cedar Lane, on the right when traveling east on Henry M. Turner Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Abbeville SC 29620, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Conservation Cabin (here, next to this marker); This Water Fountain (here, next to this marker); Secession Hill (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Henry McNeal Turner (about 300 feet away); a different marker also named Secession Hill (about 300 feet away); First Secession Meeting Boulder (about 500 feet away); First Secession Meeting Columns (about 700 feet away); Abbeville County Veterans Memorial
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(about 800 feet away); Operation Desert Shield / Storm Monument (about 800 feet away); Clarence E. Pressley (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Abbeville.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. To better understand the relationship, study each marker in the order shown.
 
Also see . . .
1. 4-H Club. Official website of the 4-H Club organization. (Submitted on June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) 

2. 4-H Club. 4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." (Submitted on June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. Maria Cromer Seigler
Marie Cromer Seigler (1882 - 1964), educator and national pioneer in agricultural instruction. In 1910, as teacher and principal of Talatha School, she
Marie Cromer Seigler Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008
2. Marie Cromer Seigler Marker
founded a Girls' Tomato Club, the first of many such clubs nationwide and a forerunner, along with the Boys' Corn Clubs, of the national 4-H Clubs, supported by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Marie Cromer said of her efforts to encourage girls and young women interested in agriculture, "I made up my mind I was going to do some­thing for country girls." With the support of Aiken Superintendent of Education Cecil H. Seigler, whom she married in 1912, she established Home Demonstration clubs and created Home Economics courses in Aiken schools. She was honored by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 for her role as a founder of 4-H Clubs.
    — Submitted June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

2. History of the Home Canning Clubs
The first Girls' Tomato and Canning Club was organized at Aiken, South Carolina, in 1910, by Miss Marie Cromer, a teacher in the rural schools. It was intended to give girls in country districts an opportunity similar to that which the Corn Club offers to boys. Miss Cromer, who is now Mrs. Seigler, was assisted in planning the details of the work by County Superintendent Cecil H. Seigler.

Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, the great agricultural educator, was at that time Special Agent Farmers' Co-operative Demonstration Work, with the U. S.
Marie Cromer Seigler Marker<br>Conservation Cabin in Background image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008
3. Marie Cromer Seigler Marker
Conservation Cabin in Background
Department of Agriculture. He saw the value of this work both in saving food products now wasted and as a training school for girls, and promptly sent the Club a canMr*. Marie Cromer Seigler, who ning outfit, cans, and labels. Secreomanized the first Canning Club tary of Agriculture James Wilson added a check for $100 and with this financial assistance forty-six girls began Home Canning.

The first season they canned by the Cold Pack method more than 6,000 cans of tomatoes and many gallons of catsup and other products. Within a year 325 girls were enrolled and the work had spread to other states. In 1912, its value had become so apparent that it was decided to extend it through all the states, and now there are more than 500 demonstrators and several hundred thousand members.

Since the adoption of the one-period process, simplifying the work and shortening the time required, Cold Pack Canning has come into more general use, and it is estimated that more than 500,000,000 jars of canned goods were packed last year by home workers.
The work is not confined exclusively to girls, but boys, too, are often included in the club, and within the past year, the MotherDaughter Clubs have been organized. These give the women of the community an opportunity to train in this work. (Source: I.H.C. Bulletins, Volume 1 by International Harvester Company (1915) pg 56.)
Marie Cromer Seigler<br>(1882-1965) image. Click for full size.
Abbeville County by the Abbeville County Historical Society
4. Marie Cromer Seigler
(1882-1965)
This Abbeville native was elected posthumously to Abbeville's Hall of Fame. Born in 1882 on a farm located four miles from Abbeville, she died on June 14, 1965. This educator started the Tomato Club, forerunner of the 4-H Club, an organization now found throughout the United States.
    — Submitted June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

3. Marie Cromer Seigler Quote
The interest that each little girl has manifested in her garden has not been superficial. It has been real, spontaneous, vital. This Club does not stand for simply the raising of tomatoes. It stands for lessons economic and lessons ethical. From the cultivation of their gardens have arisen problems of soil, drainage, pests, rotation of crops and of actual money values, of obeying laws, working together for a common need, taking failure, and making success from it, and last but not least, the unselfish acknowledgement of others success. -- Marie Cromer Seigler (1910)
    — Submitted June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
 
The Abbeville Cotton Mill Tomato Club image. Click for full size.
Abbeville County by the Abbeville County Historical Society
5. The Abbeville Cotton Mill Tomato Club
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 10, 2019. It was originally submitted on June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,296 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on June 21, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   4, 5. submitted on November 12, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

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Mar. 18, 2024