Strawberry Capital of the World

Strawberry Capital of the World. . Strawberries were a huge start to the Monett economy. Strawberries were one of the first crops introduced to Southwest Missouri in the 1800s. Southwest Missouri produced the finest strawberries in the United States and Monett became one of the busiest shipping centers for the Frisco Railroad. This area came alive during the strawberry season as the fruits of the picker's labor were brought to Monett to be placed in refrigerated cars to be shipped to points east, west, north, and south. Families made around $2,000 in 1925 from their strawberry crop and would ship around 125 crates per day. J. Sperandio was one of the bigger operators in the Monett area. His patches covered 4 different locations and many pickers were hired to harvest his crop between 1887-1987. The average price of a crate of strawberries in 1925 was $5.00. The berry picking season began in early May, and a typical yield would be about six thousand pounds an acre, so over a million pounds of strawberries must be picked, sold, and eaten in a relatively short time. The strawberry growers would load them into a wooden box and place them onto a vehicle. Then, they would take them to the railroad box cars. From there they transported the fruit to the ice production and filled the boxes with ice to preserve the strawberries before shipping them out. Strawberry production ended around late October. Monett was known as the strawberry capital of the world, but ceased most production in the 1950s largely due to the introduction of modern refrigeration on trains, enabling growing to shift to California, and a shortage of labor for picking. , Written by: Macey Flynt and Katherine Johnson , This sign was created by students under the direction of Monett High School Missouri Literature and Composition teacher Amy M. Sampson and was paid for via a grant she wrote and was awarded from Rural Schools Collaborative and their 2023 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows Program.