For 137 years, the opening of Wilson’s tobacco market has marked the start of another season while offering an opportunity to reflect on an industry that played a defining role in the city’s growth. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, farmers, industry leaders and community members gathered at American Tobacco Exchange for the 137th opening of the Wilson Tobacco Market, continuing a tradition that dates back to Wilson’s first local tobacco sale in 1890.
Tobacco soon became far more than an agricultural commodity in Wilson. As the market expanded, the city grew alongside it, with the industry helping drive the construction of businesses, homes, warehouses and other community developments. By 1919, Wilson had earned the nickname “World’s Greatest Tobacco Market,” and traces of that history remain visible today. The Central Business-Tobacco Warehouse Historic District reflects the industry’s lasting influence, while several former tobacco warehouses have been repurposed for new uses as downtown continues to evolve.
This year’s market opening also honored those who have helped carry North Carolina’s tobacco legacy forward. During the ceremony, North Carolina Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler presented the Hunt family with a plaque commemorating the induction of the late Gov. Jim Hunt into the North Carolina Tobacco Hall of Fame. Hunt, who grew up on a tobacco farm, was recognized for his longtime advocacy and support of the state’s tobacco farmers. His daughter, N.C. Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, and former First Lady Carolyn Hunt accepted the honor on behalf of the family.
Visitors exploring Wilson today can discover the city’s tobacco story in places they may not immediately associate with agriculture. One of the clearest examples is the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Museum, where Wilson’s agricultural past has been woven into a modern tourism destination. The museum occupies a remodeled former tobacco warehouse, while the park sits on land that was once part of the city’s tobacco warehouse landscape.
The connection to Wilson’s tobacco history reaches even further. Just across the street from the Whirligig Park, the Wilson County Tourism Development Authority operates inside the historic Eagles-Cozart Bank building. During Wilson’s tobacco heyday, the bank played a role as the place where tobacco warehouse workers received their paychecks. The building now serves a very different purpose, welcoming visitors, promoting local attractions and helping tell Wilson’s story, while the former tobacco warehouse next door has been transformed into the Whirligig Museum. Together, the two buildings offer a striking example of how Wilson’s past continues to support its present-day tourism industry.
That transformation can be seen throughout downtown. Visitors can stroll the same streets once bustling with tobacco activity, admire the Whirligigs, and explore local shops, restaurants and gathering spaces housed in buildings that reflect Wilson’s past. Former tobacco properties have been given new purposes, creating places to live, work, eat, gather and experience the community while preserving connections to the generations who built it.
The annual tobacco market opening is, in many ways, both a celebration of tradition and a reflection of change. The industry helped establish Wilson as a nationally recognized tobacco center and left an imprint that is still evident throughout the community. Today, those historic spaces have become places where people come to experience Wilson, making the city’s tobacco legacy not just a part of its past, but part of the visitor experience. More than a century after tobacco became a driving force in Wilson, its story still remains deeply woven into the community and offers visitors another reason to Come See Wilson.
