Gadsden County, in north Florida, was once known as the shade tobacco capital of the world. Most of the tobacco fields are gone, and what has remained are a few old relics, such as this tobacco barn. At one time, four counties spanning the Florida / Georgia state line produced 95 percent of the tobacco leaf, used to wrap Ybor City cigars. And it was the Morrison Act that guaranteed the Ybor City cigar industry wouldn't fail. Florida's tobacco became world famous in the 1840s and grew to represent a 100 million dollar industry.
Over the years the tobacco industry has faced a large share of setbacks, ranging from Civil War reconstruction to the black shank disease. The latest influx of tariff free imports and the Surgeon General's risk statement have all but killed the industry. Only a brief resurgence of the hand-rolled cigars has promised a glimmer of hope among the Gadsden county growers.