Tobacco was essential to North Carolina's economic and social history for the better part of 300 years. Thousands of families were supported by these crops, and their profits built cities, hospitals and universities. Traditional tobacco barns have always been a symbol of the significance of these crops to North Carolina, especially in the Triad region. Modern technologies have made the flue-cured barn obsolete, but many of us remember spending hours working in those barns. As these barns have fallen out of use, many have been abandoned and are quickly disappearing. Our Tobacco Barn Restoration Project will preserve out local history and educate our community about the important role tobacco playing in the building of our area. 

Tobacco was often called a "13 month crop" because of the labor intensive, multi-step process involved in the growing of this crop. January  meant tobacco farmers started to prepare seed beds for planting. By February, farmers planted their prepared seedbeds. Usually by April, farmers would transport their seedbeds into their fields, which had been being prepared February and March. April through August began the labor intensive process of keeping the fields weeded, topping the plants and keeping the plants "insect fee". The hot months of summer involved "suckering", "topping", and finally "priming" the crops.  Click the link below to find out more about the harvesting process and the importance of tobacco barns.

We plan to begin construction on the Tobacco Barn in the late spring of 2018. It is our hope that this project will be complete by the early Fall of 2018.  The Tobacco Barn Restoration Project will involve deconstructing a tobacco barn that was donated to the Museum from the Kernersville area. We will then have the barn carefully reconstructed on the Kernersville Museum's campus. Once the tobacco barn is completely restored, it will serve as an outdoor exhibit for the community to enjoy.