Long before burley tobacco became Kentucky’s signature crop, hemp dominated the state’s agriculture for more than half a century. James F. Hopkins traces the industry from its colonial-era beginnings through its collapse after World War II. He covers how the plant was seeded, harvested, and turned into rope, cloth, and other fiber goods.
Originally published in 1951, this reprint adds an updated bibliography addressing the ongoing legal and economic debate over industrial hemp. Hopkins, a University of Kentucky historian, delivers a fact-based account still cited as one of the most reliable resources on hemp’s American history.
Published 1998
272 pages
$25.00