Historic plaque, First Girl's Tomato Club in Texas

Description:

Historic plaque, "First Girl's Tomato Club in Texas. The first Girl's Tomato Clubs in Texas were organized in 1912 in Milam County to acquaint young women in rural areas with tomato production and canning techniques. At the request of the United States Department of Agriculture, Mrs. Edna Westbrook Trigg, a local high school principal, agreed to undertake the project. She organized eleven clubs throughout the county, with members ranging in age from ten to eighteen. A similar program for boys, the Corn Clubs, had been instituted in Jack County four years earlier. Each member of the Girl's Tomato Clubs was to produce a tomato crop on one-tenth of an acre of land and then was taught proper canning procedures. The girls exhibited their products at Milano, Rockdale, the 1913 State Fair in Dallas, and the Waco Cotton Palace. So successful were these exhibits that several of the girls started college education funds with the money they raised selling their goods. As the state's first rural girl's organization of its kind, the Tomato Clubs were forerunners of later programs, including 4-H, that were initiated under the supervision of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Over time, 4-H has expanded its scope but has maintained the principle objectives of its predecessors."

Creator(s): Belden, Dreanna L.
Location(s): United States - Texas - Milam County - Cameron
Creation Date: October 8, 2006
Partner(s):
UNT Libraries
Collection(s):
Photographing Texas
Usage:
Total Uses: 165
Past 30 days: 7
Yesterday: 0
Creator (Photographer):
Original Creation Date: October 8, 2006
Coverage:
Place
United States - Texas - Milam County - Cameron
Era
Into Modern Times, 1939-Present
Date
October 8, 2006
Description:

Historic plaque, "First Girl's Tomato Club in Texas. The first Girl's Tomato Clubs in Texas were organized in 1912 in Milam County to acquaint young women in rural areas with tomato production and canning techniques. At the request of the United States Department of Agriculture, Mrs. Edna Westbrook Trigg, a local high school principal, agreed to undertake the project. She organized eleven clubs throughout the county, with members ranging in age from ten to eighteen. A similar program for boys, the Corn Clubs, had been instituted in Jack County four years earlier. Each member of the Girl's Tomato Clubs was to produce a tomato crop on one-tenth of an acre of land and then was taught proper canning procedures. The girls exhibited their products at Milano, Rockdale, the 1913 State Fair in Dallas, and the Waco Cotton Palace. So successful were these exhibits that several of the girls started college education funds with the money they raised selling their goods. As the state's first rural girl's organization of its kind, the Tomato Clubs were forerunners of later programs, including 4-H, that were initiated under the supervision of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Over time, 4-H has expanded its scope but has maintained the principle objectives of its predecessors."

Physical Description:

digital photograph

Language(s):
Subject(s):
Partner:
UNT Libraries
Collection:
Photographing Texas
Identifier:
  • ARK: ark:/67531/metapth28327
Resource Type: Photograph
Format: Image
Rights:
Access: Public