Cane Syrup Production in Van Zandt County
Ben Wheeler, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The tradition of making syrup from sugar cane and sorghum started in East Texas in the second half of the nineteenth century. Syrup production arrived along with migration from the Deep South to East Texas. Van Zandt County provided the ideal combination of fertile soil and abundant water for the farming of sugar cane syrup. Willis Jarrell Hale was the first farmer to gain notoriety for producing syrup in Van Zandt County. In 1884, Hale started farming and growing ribbon cane on what became known as the Hale Farm which was located two and a half miles east of Canton. Hale developed the land so that he could irrigate the cane using the flood method from a large spring on the property, frequently making 600 gallons of syrup to the acre. Hale Farm Syrup developed a reputation for superior quality all over Texas as well as nationally. Hale produced this famous syrup for 23 years. Henry D. Jones acquired the farm in 1915 from Metza Hale, son of W.J., and carried on the tradition of syrup making. Jones managed to expand the operation and create publicity over the next 45 years. He built a modern syrup mill with a gasoline engine and was farming 20 acres of ribbon cane. The sale of his Hale Farm Syrup reached from Missouri to California, as well as all over the State of Texas. The Hale Farm employed many members of the Van Zandt community during the Great Depression. Demand for ribbon cane syrup declined after WWII, but production continued until 1960. The ownership of the land still remains in the Jones Family.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The making of syrup from sugar cane and sorghum came to East Texas with settlers migrating from the Deep South in the later nineteenth century, and Van Zandt County's fertile soil and abundant water proved ideal for it. Beginning in 1884, one farmer built a reputation for ribbon-cane syrup of exceptional quality, irrigating his cane from a large spring and shipping the product across the state and nation. A later owner modernized the mill and expanded sales for decades, employing many local families through the Great Depression before demand faded after World War II.
Why it matters
Cane-syrup making was a signature folk industry of the rural South, and its rise and decline here mirror the broader story of small agricultural enterprises that sustained communities for generations.
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Related people
- · Willis Jarrell Hale
- · Henry D. Jones
Themes & tags
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Morgan G. Sanders
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Born near Ben Wheeler, Morgan Gurley Sanders published newspapers and clerked for the state senate before building a long career in Texas and national politics. A Democrat, he served in the state legislature, as county and district attorney, and for nearly two decades in the U.S. Congress, where Speaker John Nance Garner placed him on the powerful Ways and Means Committee in 1931. Defeated in 1938, he remained an active figure in Van Zandt County until his death.
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