Pack House

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Curing Barn
Pack House
First Factory
Third Factory
The Homestead
Tobacco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grading and Tying Hands

The pack house at the Homestead, constructed during the early 1900s, was used to store cured tobacco until the leaf was taken to market.  While in the pack house, the leaves were "graded," or sorted, into groups according to quality.  After size, color, and condition determined the grade of the leaves, they were bound into bundles called "hands."  Periodically during storage and grading, a pit beneath the barn was utilized for "ordering" of the tobacco, a procedure in which the leaves were hung to absorb just enough moisture to make the blades pliant.

The pack house at Duke Homestead.