November 11, 2007

In the 1940s, in an attempt to reinvigorate the Sebastian County economy during the recent Depression, local citizens began to cultivate a hybrid variety berry recently brought to the area. Named after Lavaca (Sebastian County), the new Lavacaberry saw rapid sales. By the late 1940s, thousands of crates, with labels such as the one shown here, were being shipped each month. Out-of-state competition brought an end to the berry boom in the late 1950s, and today they are only grown in a few scattered family patches.