B 



to the Greeneville area. They convinced many of the 

 local farmers to plant Burley rather than attempting 

 to compete with the flue-cured tobacco growers to the 

 east. Up to 1916, Greene and Washington Counties 

 were about the only ones producing Burley. After that 

 its growth spread throughout most of the state. But 

 before discussing Burley 's important impact upon the 

 state, it is necessary to delve into the formation of a 

 controversial group, hated by many, revered by many, 

 that changed the entire face of the industry in the 

 state. The "Night Riders" of Kentucky and Tennessee 

 left a trail that is not likely to be forgotten. 



lack patch blues 



Dark tobacco in Tennessee has been grown, over the 

 years, in an area commonly referred to as the Black 

 Patch. It is located in the north central and northwest- 

 ern part of Tennessee and in the south central and south- 

 western part of Kentucky. The four basic tobacco 

 districts in the Black Patch include: The Northern 

 Dark-Fired or Stemming District, the Eastern Dark- 

 Fired District, the Western Dark-Fired District and the 

 Bowling Green Dark Air-Cured or One Sucker District. 



Pioneer tobacco farmers in the Black Patch, gener- 

 ally, migrated from Virginia and North Carolina. Ini- 

 tially, they grew tobacco for home consumption, but 

 with the development of commercial river traffic and 

 trade with Natchez and New Orleans, the Black Patch 

 farmers became principal exporters of dark tobacco 

 in the country. 



In 1900, Tennessee grew about 53.5 million pounds 

 of dark tobacco. One historian described tobacco cul- 



32 



