The Backside of America

It’s Really Big, Sometimes Beautiful and Always Worth a Second Look

Friday, September 3, 2021

Many Barns, Two Minds

From Dave Brigham:

What a lovely pastoral scene, no?

Located in my hometown of Simsbury, Conn., these barns were once used to dry tobacco leaves. Simsbury was part of what was called "Tobacco Valley," a fertile area stretching from Springfield, Mass., south along the Connecticut River and its tributaries to Hartford, Connecticut (I wrote a lot of these same words five years ago in "Tobacco Road"). Beginning in 1640, farmers imported seeds from Virginia, according to ConnecticutHistory.org, and for a long time after, tobacco farming was the largest industry in the Valley.

By the time I was growing up, from the late 1960s through the '70s, the industry had shrunk but was still a vital and visible part of the local economy. A decrease in cigar smoking, combined with the availability of cheaper, mass-produced cigar wrappers, led to the demise of the tobacco farms. In the 1930's, total acreage in the Valley dedicated to growing tobacco stood at 30,000 acres, according to ConnecticutHistory.org. By 2006, the land for farming had dwindled to less than 2,000 acres.

I was surprised, then, that a few minutes after I shot those barns, a tractor hauling a trailer laden with tobacco leaves drove by me. I didn't realize that Simsbury was still active in the shade-tobacco business. I posted that photo on a Simsbury Facebook group, and learned that the leaves are grown in nearby East Granby or Bloomfield, and then hung in some of Simsbury's barns. A short distance from where I saw the tractor, is a former tobacco field with an array of solar panels.

I'm of two minds about these barns. As photography subjects, I find them irresistible. They evoke memories of the days before Simsbury became a bedroom community for Hartford's insurance industry. The white barns set off nicely against the surrounding green fields. The patina gives a nice sense of the history here, and the slight overgrowth tells me that someone is still taking care of these places.

But the fact is, these barns represent an industry that is bad for people's health, plain and simple.

I also spent time photographing barns along the main drag through Simsbury, Hopmeadow Street (aka Route 10). The barns below are located on land owned by Culbro, LLC, which has owned tobacco farms in the area for decades. The property below abuts the International Skating Center of Connecticut, where ice skaters from around the globe have trained over the past 25 years.