Located on a historic farm in the Connecticut River Valley,
O. J. Thrall has produced the finest Connecticut Shade cigar wrapper in the world for over 100 years.
Connecticut River Valley
Our History Founded by William Thrall, one of the first settlers in Connecticut in 1640, the O. J. Thrall farm has a rich and deep history in the Connecticut River Valley. The Thrall family has been growing tobacco for over three centuries, and enjoys the distinction of being the oldest family farm in the United States. In 1911, Oliver J. Thrall helped to pioneer the birth of the Shade Tobacco industry, a new process of growing tobacco under cloth tents that produces fine, smooth wrapper leaves. In the mid 1900’s over 30,000 acres of Shade Tobacco was grown in the renowned fertile, loamy sand of the Connecticut Valley. In the decades since, the unique soil and climate of this region have proven ideal for the perfection of Connecticut Shade wrapper. Today the Thrall family remains one of the few growers of this premium product. An active experimental plant breeding program and time-tested cultivation practices initiated by Oliver J. Thrall in the early 1900’s have been passed down from father to son for generations—to Joseph B. Thrall, who instigated major innovations such as the mechanical sewing machine, to Oliver J. Thrall, II, who strategically expanded the farm holdings to include parcels in the nearby towns of Granby and Ellington and constructed a state-of-the-art heatregulated warehouse for fermenting cured tobacco, to Joseph B. Thrall, II and Spencer Thrall who run the farm today. The family still resides on the beautiful homestead on Thrall Road in Windsor, Connecticut, committed to the tradition of creating the finest authentic Connecticut Shade wrapper for discerning manufacturers.
Our Mission O. J. Thrall, Inc. produces the highest quality Shade Tobacco available anywhere in the world. In fact, only tobacco grown in the Connecticut Valley in the United States exhibits the special characteristics of “Connecticut Shade.� Our expertise has enabled us to perfect the art of growing this gorgeous tobacco.
until they reach the size for transplanting to tented tobacco fields in May. Plants require a human touch from setting to harvest, first individually hand-tied by string to wires overhead to promote straight growth, then suckered, hoed and finally painstakingly harvested by hand beginning in June.
The labor-intensive process begins each spring in greenhouses where proven tobacco seed strains are germinated
Our experienced labor force, composed of local workers as well as seasonal workers from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, follows a prescribed process of handling the leaves to ensure an unblemished product.
Tobacco thrives in hot, humid weather and plants reach well over 10 feet in the ideal conditions of our region and under our expert care. Leaves are individually picked and then hung in tobacco sheds for curing. Curing is a precise and delicate process of several weeks requiring constant monitoring of gas burners that adjust the temperature and humidity in the sheds. Tobacco is taken down from the sheds in the fall and fermented in our modern warehouse facility, where it is also packed for shipment to the Dominican Republic, where sorting, additional fermentation and baling occur. The outstanding consistency, color, texture and taste of our true Connecticut Shade wrapper make O. J. Thrall tobacco one of the most sought-after custom tobacco products on the market.
O. J. Thrall produces the absolute finest Connecticut Shade cigar wrapper in the world
For more information, please contact: Spencer Thrall O. J. Thrall, Inc. 65 Thrall Road, Windsor, Connecticut 06095 U.S.A. set1@sbcglobal.net 860.416.9992 • 860.688.0751