PRETTY SURE TOBACCO WAS A MAJOR CROP IN SOUTHERN WISCONSIN FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
It was. Burley tobacco would make a great cash crop for me, though Beau is against it. ;)
I went to High School with a gal named Linda. Her family farmed and her Dad would give each of the kids an acre field plot and they could plant and sell whatever they wanted; but it was WHOLEY their operation, responsibility, etc.
While her brothers grew sweet corn or melons, Linda always grew tobacco. She always had money and she always had the coolest car once we got our drivers licenses. ;)
Seriously? Tobacco in Wisconsin? I'm surprised. I thought it was a plant that thrived in hot climates.
I guess it is so.
Though I don't think Tobacco was anywhere near as valuable as cotton, nor do I think it required as many people to cultivate it as did cotton.
I hate the stuff. I wish it never caught on. I can't stand cigarette smoke.