Tomatoes

Tomatoes. Have Deep Roots in The Ozarks. , In the late 1800s, the beautiful Ozark Mountains were home to determined and hardworking hill folk living off the land. Summers were filled with steady farming in preparation for long winters. While most crops struggled to grow in the rocky Ozarks soil, locals discovered that tomatoes thrived and actually produced more than folks could use. Seeing the waste, a clever resident starting buying the extras from neighbors, canning them in his kitchen and selling them to nearby communities. And thus, the Stone County tomato canning industry was born and with it came a much needed source of income for the area. , At its peak, tomato canning was the largest trade in the county, employing more than 2,500 growers and another 2,500 residents in 38 canneries. Workers would stand shoulder-to-shoulder for long days in the blazing summer heat hand peeling the sun-kissed fruit for 5¢ per bucket. During the early days, these Ozark canneries supplied over 1.5 million cases of tomatoes annually from coast to coast across the United States. The history of this special place in time is reflected in the bright and colorful can labels that still exist today, like the exact replica seen here.