C
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OF T
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RLD O W
CIG
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IGA C -
ITAL P A
TO S T S O
I E G
Words by Ted Hunt In the land of sunshine, oranges, tourism, retirees, alligators and pythons,
one of their wagons broke down. They decided to stay put and began farming
there exists a rich tradition that goes far beyond the theme parks and count-
to support themselves. They soon realized the sandy soil was ideal for cotton
less rows of condominiums. Florida’s cigar industry, often overshadowed by
and growing the Cuban tobacco seeds they brought along. As it turned out,
more prominent industries and attractions, has quietly thrived, and the tra-
the tobacco leaves were high-grade quality and perfect for cigar wrapping.
dition of cigar making holds a significant place in the state’s history, culture and economy. So grab a stogie and let’s embark on a journey through the fas-
By 1845, Gadsden County was growing 1.2 million pounds of cigar tobacco
cinating history of Florida’s cigar industry where hand rolling cigars is more
and shipping it to the booming cigar making industry in the United States as
than just a craft, it’s practically a competitive sport.
well as overseas. Lots of money was being made: Lucky accident!
LESSON 101: THE TOBACCO LEAF
Cigar making in Key West dates to 1831 when William H. Wall opened a small
Cigar tobacco differs greatly from cigarette, pipe, chewing and snuff tobac-
factory that employed 50 workers from Cuba to hand roll cigars, using Cu-
co. Cigar tobacco is air cured and naturally aged. No chemicals or additives
ban tobacco leaves. Other cigar factories followed and also brought over
are used. A cigar is a roll of all-natural tobacco wrapped in a natural tobac-
Cuban workers. Business was thriving until the Civil War. The North’s block-
co leaf. In contrast, cigarette tobacco and its wrapping paper and filters are
ade around Florida stopped shipments of leaves from Cuba vital to the cigar
processed with chemical additives. Pipe tobacco infuses additives for flavor,
factories, and the factories went under. After the war, factories re-opened and
aroma and preservation. Chewing and snuff tobaccos use additives for fla-
soon the demand for Key West cigars outpaced the supply.
vor and sweetness. Hand-rolled cigar manufacturers take pride in using only pure, unadulterated tobacco where not a single leaf is chemically treated or
In 1869 a cigar maker from Cuba, Vicente Martinez Ybor, fleeing the Cuban
artificially altered for taste. So voila! You’re now a tobacco aficionado.
revolution between Spain and Cuba, came to the island and opened up a cigar factory. Other cigar factories quickly followed. Soon thousands of experi-
LESSON 102: CIGAR TOBACCO HISTORY
enced cigar workers also fled the revolution to work in the Key West factories.
In 1542, tobacco was first grown commercially in North America. For over 200
These exiled rollers brought with them the secret art of cigar making, turning
years, tobacco farming expanded and flourished. Tobacco seeds were im-
Florida into the epicenter of the American cigar industry. Hand-rolled cigars
ported from South America, and the tobacco leaf was used in pipes and snuff.
require precision and speed. Cigar making was not just a job to the workers,
Eventually cigar smoking began to catch on because cigars were cheaper
they thought of themselves as more of an artist than a worker. At its height in
and easy to make. Cigar hand rollers found that regular tobacco leaves were
the 1880s, there were more than 100 cigar factories in Key West, producing
not suitable for cigars, so cigar tobacco farmers began importing seeds from
millions of cigars per year. Key West became the largest producer of cigars
Cuba because they produced tobacco that was sweeter and made for a bet-
in the United States.
ter roll. They didn’t know it back then, but Cuban soil is rich in magnesium, calcium and iron which results in the perfect cigar tobacco. By 1895 there
Just as quickly as the cigar boom began in Key West, it quickly burned out. A
were approximately 42,000 cigar factories in the United States. Their com-
fire in 1886 swept through the town and destroyed most of the cigar factories.
bined output was millions of cigars each day.
A few stuck around, but Ybor moved his factory to Tampa. Here steamships would bring tobacco leaves from Cuba to be processed into cigars, then the
Florida’s cigar tobacco industry began in the 1820s quite by accident. As early
railroad would take the product to major markets up North. The area around
pioneers were crossing the Florida-Georgia border (today Gadsden County),
the cigar factories grew and became known as Ybor City. Immigrants came
20 Folio Weekly
