Ontario Tobacco History

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Ontario tobacco cultivation has quite the history. Elgin County archives have an abundance of interesting photos and captions. Will post from time to time.



"All the work on a tobacco farm is not hoeing and harvesting. The tobacco plants have to be sprayed for the control of the greedy tobacco worms and also for fungus disease. Spraying is a thirsty job. The Times-Journal photographer caught Maxine Reid, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Reid, as she was handing a jar of water to her brother, 19-year-old Arnold Reid, on the Faulkner-Barendregt farm, Union Road, Southwold. Arnold was giving a back field of flue-cured its final application of arsenate of lead. His job called for the driving of the horses and operating the pump handle. The Reids are from the Vienna and Port Burwell district. Maxine, just 14 years old, expects to be busy as a primer for many weeks."

 

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"Dozens and dozens of new kilns have been erected or are in the course of construction throughout the widening flue-cured tobacco production district this year to take care of new farms and a materially increased acreage. Twelve new kilns are in various stages of completion on the Faulkner-Barendregt farm, Union Road, Southwold, where flue-cured is growing where beef cattle ranged a year or so ago. Seventy-five acres are growing to tobacco on this farm. The new kilns are the modern oil-fired type and are in two rows of six kilns each. They give the impression of one of the housing projects so common in production centres during the war. Clement Faulkner is an American from the Tobacco South, who was attracted to Southwestern Ontario some years ago; Klaas Barendregt, whose home farm is on the 2nd Concession of South Yarmouth, is a native of Holland."

 

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ca. 1970 Two copies of a colour postcard with caption "Canada's tobacco country - This view shows an Ontario tobacco field backgrounded by eight kilns. The great majority of Canada's tobacco comes from the Brantford, Simcoe, Delhi, Tillsonburg area, Ontario, Canada." Published by L.F. Charter, Picton, Ontario.

 

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ca1975
Richard Pineo of Pineo Farms Ltd., RR 1, Sparta, shows harvested tobacco in the drying kiln.

 

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" Although the rains slowed the tobacco harvest for a few days, it did not affect the productivity of most farms. Here, Richard Pineo of Pineo Farms Ltd., RR 1, Sparta, shows the top leaf, which when harvested successfully this week, will represent the profit."

 

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Harvesting Tobacco in Western Ontario, ca. 1960.

 

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HISTORY / BIOGRAPHICAL

Property was owned by Herb Johnson. The house in this photograph was built in 1898. It was the Johnson farmhouse, later owned by the Kosynski family.As of 2020, Shawn Southern owns this house.

SCOPE AND CONTENT
The man in the photograph is Arthur Kosynski,standing in a tobacco field. Three kilns and a house in background.

AApril 2020, Shawn Southern commented: "The comment I was trying to add is that the gentleman in the photo is Arthur Kosynski, whose son Frank lives nearby. Frank actually lives across from the house in the photo, and I currently own the house".

 

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1957 St. Thomas

"Air-Cured Crop- A field of burley at harvest time presents a strange and interesting sight. The entire plants are cut down and impaled on wooden stakes. For a day or two, the crop is left outside to wilt in the sun. Later, stored in barns, the cool fall winds air cure the crop."

 

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Two copies of a black and white aerial photograph used in St. Thomas Times-Journal article published August 3, 1957 (and re-published April 4, 1963) with caption: "Aylmer Tobacco Storage Plant Largest in Canada - With completion of the $450,000 No. 7 warehouse at Aylmer, Imperial Leaf Tobacco Company will have storage facilities for some 80,000,000 pounds of flue-cured tobacco grown in Southwestern Ontario. The new warehouse, seen at the left centre, to be completed this fall, will bring total storage floor space available to 529,050 square feet.

 

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When planting tobacco the seedlings would be pulled in the greenhouse while sitting on a bench on a rail. One would pull up the tallest plants amongst the thousands to fill a basket to take out to the planter. This all happened early morning before the greenhouse got too hot.


Black and white photograph used in St. Thomas Times-Journal article published May 30, 1972 with caption: "Tobacco Planting Season - Area farmers are beginning to plant this year's crop of tobacco. From left, Mrs. Anna Dueck of RR 4, St. Thomas, and Mrs. Helen Schroeder of 16 Antrim Street, St. Thomas, pull tobacco plants in a greenhouse on the farm of Henry Devries, RR 4, St. Thomas. The plants will be transplanted in fields later this week."

 

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Sign for a barn and kiln supplier. Photo from Tobacco Museum, Delhi ON

 

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An original curing kiln and oven in Delhi, ON
The guide told us the fire and temp control was handled by experts from who came from Virginia and tended the kilns. They taught locals in Ontario how to flue cure tobacco, which was also originating from Virginia.

 

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Hands of tobacco hanging in a kiln as they would have 75 years ago.

 

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Flue curing barn with tractor and boat in front

 

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Sticks of flue cured leaf in the kiln

 

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Unloading the kiln

 

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Wonderful to see a 2025 crop of Virginia growing in the tobacco belt in Norfolk Ontario

This would be the type of tobacco that is sold as Canadian Lemon Virginia

 

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A perfect ripe Virginia leaf. This cured to a bright yellow in 2 days, in a closet and with great aroma. Not sure what variety it is but perhaps Delgold or something related that is suited for Ontario.

 

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Thank You for Smoking