The Haywood County Mutual Cannery

In response to the economic stagnation brought on by the Great Depression, 140 local farmers (with the help of the Agriculture Extension Bureau and the Land of the Sky Council) organized the Haywood County Mutual Cannery in Hazelwood to help families stay afloat. The cannery established a much-needed connection between farmers looking for labor and idle hands looking for work. Workers would inspect freshly harvested crops like spinach, beans, and blackberries on a conveyor belt before washing them and packing them into cans. All told, some 420 families gained employment through the cannery.

In just one month (August of 1937) the cannery processed 80 tons of berries, putting more than $5,000 into the hands of local families. These berries were sold nationally at markets in Chicago and Baltimore and internationally to companies like Cross & Blackwell in England who used the berries for jelly production. The next year, the Cannery processed 170,000 pounds of beans! Other Haywood County-based canneries, set up in local schoolhouses, were established to ensure that local families had access to these highly sought-after foods, too.

Photograph courtesy of Haywood County Historical & Genealogical Society, Canton Historical Museum