Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
First Girl's Tomato Club in Texas
201 E. Main
Cameron, TX
Jail Museum lawn
Cameron, TX
Jail Museum lawn
The first Girl's Tomato Clubs in Texas were organized in 1912 in Milam County to acquaint young women in rural areas with tomato production and canning techniques. At the request of the United States Department of Agriculture, Mrs. Edna Westbrook Trigg, a local high school principal, agreed to undertake the project. She organized eleven clubs throughout the county, with members ranging in age from ten to eighteen. A similar program for boys, the Corn Clubs, had been instituted in Jack County four years earlier. Each member of the Girl's Tomato Clubs was to produce a tomato crop on one-tenth of an acre of land and then was taught proper canning procedures. The girls exhibited their products at Milano, Rockdale, the 1913 State Fair in Dallas, and the Waco Cotton Palace. So successful were these exhibits that several of the girls started college education funds with the money they raised selling their goods. As the state's first rural girl's organization of its kind, the Tomato Clubs were forerunners of later programs, including 4-H, that were initiated under the supervision of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Over time, 4-H has expanded its scope but has maintained the principle objectives of its predecessors.
Erected 1983
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Texas' First Home Demonstration Agent
Edna W. Trigg, first home demonstration agent in Texas.
Photo courtesy of and permission received from Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University.
Copyright: If this photo is used in a publication or website, proper citation is required. All materials must be credited as follows: Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University. It is the user’s responsibility to secure permission from the copyright holders for publication of any materials. Permission must be obtained in writing prior to publication. Please contact the Cushing Memorial Library for further information. Phone: 979-845-1951, Fax: 979-845-1441, Web: library.tamu.edu/Cushing, Email: cushing-library@tamu.edu.
Edna W. Trigg, first home demonstration agent in Texas.
Photo courtesy of and permission received from Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University.
Copyright: If this photo is used in a publication or website, proper citation is required. All materials must be credited as follows: Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University. It is the user’s responsibility to secure permission from the copyright holders for publication of any materials. Permission must be obtained in writing prior to publication. Please contact the Cushing Memorial Library for further information. Phone: 979-845-1951, Fax: 979-845-1441, Web: library.tamu.edu/Cushing, Email: cushing-library@tamu.edu.