World's Greatest Tobacco Market

World's Greatest Tobacco Market. Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. , 1849: Town Incorporation , Shortly after the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Company began service in 1839, the Toisnot Depot and the community of Hickory Grove began developming at the intersection of the rail line and what is now known as Barnes Street. A bill to formally incorporate the two entities into the town of Wilson was ratified on January 29, 1849., 1890s: The World's Greatest Tobacco Market , The growth of the town may be dated from its first tobacco sale in 1890. During the years that tobacco was sold through the auction system in huge auction warehouses, Wilson became known as "the World's Greatest (Flue-Cured) Tobacco Market". The market crew business magnates and enterprises to the downtown to support the flourishing industry and established one of the most beautiful early twentieth century residential neighborhoods in the country as recognized by National Geographic., 1990s: Downturn and Disrepair , In the late 1990s, the auctions that had served as the market link between farmers and buyers began a downturn, with cigarette manufacturers bypassing the auctions and contracting directly with the growers. As a result, the tobacco auction warehouses that filled the downtown began to fall into disrepair and most were demolished or lost to fire., The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park Site , Located in Historic Downtown Wilson, the park site sits in the heart of the National Register Tobacco Warehouse Historic District. Originally a civil war cemetery, which was later moved, this site was where the first tobacco auction warehouse was built and where tobacco was first sold in Wilson. Though called several names in its almost 100-year history, the warehouse was ultimately known as the Watson-Woodard Warehouse. The historic building burned down in 1987 and the lot stood vacant until park construction began in 2013.