The Hemp History of Clark County, Kentucky, dates all the way back to the pioneer days of 1779, when hemp was grown to make clothing.
One early settler recalls getting his first hemp seed, saving the hemp stalks, and how his wife made him a shirt out of it. Hemp fibres were spun into yarn using spinning wheels, and woven into fabric on looms, just like wool and flax.
All this changed with the rise of cotton plantations in the southern states, in the early 1900’s. Cotton replaced hemp for clothing, and hemp was used to accommodate the new cotton industry. The bags for cotton bales were made of hemp, as were the ropes used to tie them up. Hemp was also used by the U.S. Navy to produce ropes and sails for their ships.
Kentucky has ideal soil and growing conditions for hemp, so it became one of the main areas for hemp production.
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