A Brief History of
Strawberry Production
in Cullman County
By Tony Glover,
Cullman County Extension Coordinator
T
he early German settlers called strawber-
ries, erdbeeren or literally “earth berry.”
Andrew Kessler may have brought the first
strawberry plants to Cullman in 1880. In 1886,
during a ball and picnic to commemorate the
founding of Cullman, John Cullmann toasted the
recent discovery of coal, the exploration for oil,
and the hoped for arrival of an east-west railroad,
along with the success of local ventures in wine,
strawberry, and cotton production. The suc-
cess with wine was short-lived due to a disease
problem that still prevents most European wine
grapes from growing in our area. However, first
cotton and later strawberry production took off
in a big way. Cullman County became a leader in
both commodities.
Large scale strawberry production had to wait
on a means of refrigeration to allow for distant
shipping via rail cars. However, by 1936 Cullman
was harvesting 2,200 acres of strawberries and
had become the strawberry producing capital of
Alabama if not the entire south. My grandfather
once told me that not everyone in Cullman grew
strawberries but everyone picked them. He rec-
ollected to me that the schools let the kids out for
strawberry and cotton picking times. I recently
read a history of Cullman agriculture that docu-
mented that before the United States entered the
Second World War, Cullman farmers were liter-
ally shipping thousands of barrels of strawberries
to England to help feed their hungry population.
World War II caused a labor shortage and the
acreage of strawberries grown in Cullman fell to
about 500. By 1947, acreage started to climb back
up to near 1000 acres and never got above that
level again. During the strawberry “heyday,” Cull-
man held a very large annual strawberry festival
that brought folks from all over north Alabama
to celebrate the harvest season each spring. Even-
tually acreage began to fall and the strawberry
festival was stopped. This time a combination of
factors likely led to the industries decline: com-
petition from Florida, labor and the rise of the
poultry industry which provided a more secure
income stream with less risk.
Several years ago local officials decided to
resurrect the Cullman Strawberry Festival and
even though we will likely never have the large
acreages we once grew we do have several local
producers who grow strawberries for local sales.
The crop potential looks good and barring any
severe late freezes, they should harvest a good
crop of the sweet “erdbeerens.”
The annual strawberry festival is held at the
Festhalle Market Platz -Farmers Market in
downtown Cullman near the railroad line that
once shipped thousands of crates of berries to
our northern neighbors. The festival plays host to
many activities including a wonderful assortment
of local artisans selling their wares at an arts and
crafts event in Depot Park across from the farm-
ers market. The Festhalle also traditionally hosts
a day for seniors with games and food.
To get more details about next year’s Cullman
Strawberry Festival visit their Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/CullmanStrawberryfest. This
year’s event has been cancelled due to concerns of
COVID-19.
CULLMAN COUNTY SENIOR MAGAZINE
SUMMER 2020 | 17