Site of Willis Cigar Factory

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. After the Civil War, the farmers of Montgomery County made a discovery. Something about the soil, something about the climate, called out to a particular crop.

Tobacco. And not just any tobacco. The varieties they grew here were of the highest quality.

How high? High enough to win international awards. In Chicago.

In Paris. Montgomery County tobacco, standing on a world stage, and holding its own. Now that's a story most folks never heard.

At the height of it all, Willis alone had eight cigar operations running. Eight. That's not a cottage industry, that's a way of life.

And one of those operations stood right here, on this very site. The Willis Cigar Factory. It was founded by a Kentucky native, Captain Thomas Wesley Smith, born in 1829 and gone by 1901.

The man wore a few hats in his time. Civil War veteran. Former sheriff.

And then, cigar man. The factory he built kept on running into the early nineteen hundreds, long after the captain himself had passed. So next time somebody tells you Texas is all cattle and cotton, you remember this corner of Montgomery County, where the tobacco grew tall, the cigars rolled steady, and the judges in Paris apparently agreed it was something worth noticing.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War, area farmers found the climate and soil conditions of Montgomery County were ideal for the production of tobacco. The varieties grown here were of the highest quality, winning international awards in Chicago and Paris. At the height of local tobacco production, there were eight cigar operations in Willis. One, the Willis Cigar Factory, was located at this site. Founded by Kentucky native Capt. Thomas Wesley Smith (1829-1901), a Civil War veteran and former sheriff, it remained in operation until the early 1900s. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986