Jefferson in Ashe County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Ashe County Victory Garden

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 23, 2023

1. Ashe County Victory Garden Marker

Inscription. With European farmlands devastated and farmers called into military service during WWI, America's European allies turned to us for food. Months before entering WWI in 1917, the National War Garden Commission was established to encourage Americans to grow and store our own food so that farm surplus could be sent overseas. Americans were encouraged to “sow the seeds of victory,” and the name Victory Garden caught on. Victory Gardens reappeared during WWII as a way to support the war effort. During World War II Victory Gardens were necessary to help prevent national food shortages. At their peak, there were more than 20,000,000 Victory Gardens planted across the United States. By 1944, Victory Gardens were responsible for producing 40% of all vegetables grown, making it the most successful local foods project in United States history.

While rural communities, like those in Ashe County had always known the value of self-sufficiency, it became mainstream and patriotic to produce fruits and vegetables locally.

Museum of Ashe County History's Victory Garden pays homage to the Victory Gardens of the twentieth

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

century, while joining the ranks of modern Victory Gardens whose purpose is to fight a war on hunger.

The Victory Garden's living exhibit project is maintained by Cooperative Extension, Ashe Center and Ashe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers in partnership with the Museum of Ashe County History.

Erected by Museum of Ashe County History.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • War, World I • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1917.

Location. 36° 25.283′ N, 81° 28.245′ W. Marker is in Jefferson, North Carolina, in Ashe County. It can be reached from the intersection of Court Street and Ashe Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker is behind the Museum of Ashe County History. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 225 Court St, Jefferson NC 28640, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s and he Mountains in the High Country. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally,

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 24, 2023

2. Ashe County Victory Garden Marker

it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Old Ashe County War Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Life in Old Jefferson (within shouting distance of this marker); Asa Gray (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Charters of Freedom (approx. 0.7 miles away); Ashe County War Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Virginia Creeper in Ashe County (approx. 1.9 miles away); The Virginia Creeper in West Jefferson (approx. 1.9 miles away); Lansing School (approx. 5.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jefferson.

Also see . . .
1. The Gardens of Victory. This film by the United States Office of Civil Defense and Better Homes and Gardens Magazine promoted Victory Gardens during World War II.

Victory Garden Promotional Poster image. Click for full size.

U.S. Office of War Information via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (Public Domain), circa 1940/45

3. Victory Garden Promotional Poster

Posters like this were widely distributed in the United States during World War II.

(Ball State University Libraries, uploaded July 6, 2015) (Submitted on July 20, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. America’s Patriotic Victory Gardens. During both World Wars, America's agricultural production became a powerful military tool. (Laura Schumm, The History Channel, posted May 29, 2014) (Submitted on July 20, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 20, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 253 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 20, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.