The Texas Fig Farmer

by Paula Bosse

Figs. Not a fan. Except in “newton” form. There were fig trees growing at the edge of my Dallas kindergarten, and I was always kind of disgusted by the “milk” that oozed out of them. I’m sure that experience at a tender age scarred me for life — I’ve never been tempted to dive into the world of products or recipes featuring that weird, sticky fruit. Despite that aversion, I found this fantastic photograph of a Texas fig farmer recently, and I’ve just emerged from a search for more photos of early-20th-century Texas fig-farming. (That’s a sentence that has probably never been uttered in human history.)

Here’s the great photo that started it all — taken in about 1910. I love the derby hat, the striped trousers, the sinewy arms, the wedding ring, the stance. His expression is an earnest one, and he seems proud to be photographed with his prized fig plant, its dirty roots dangling. (All images are larger when clicked.)

The primo Texas fig-growing region of yore seems to have been in the Gulf Coast area, and most of these figgy photos were taken near Houston. The first one, from about 1909, shows a fig orchard in what was once (and may still be) a hot-bed for Texas figs, Alvin, Texas.

via WorthPoint

Here’s another farmer, who’s written on this 1911 real-photo postcard, “Figs set out in March, picture taken in Sept.”

via WorthPoint

And another real-photo postcard from Alvin, with part of the message reading, “hauling for the fig plant.”

via eBay

Up close and colorized: a postcard emblazoned with a Magnolia fig tree (“The money maker of the Gulf Coast Country”).

And not just figs, but … pigs! “‘Pigs is Pigs and ‘Figs is Figs.'”

via eBay

This looks a bit claustrophobic. And muddy. And vaguely sinister.

via the Houston Public Library

Figs as far as the eye can see.

via the Houston Public Library

Where do all those harvested figs go? They go to the fig plant. This one is in Aldine, Texas, near Houston. I bet every surface in that place was sticky.

via the Houston Public Library

Some enterprising folks thought direct-marketing was the way to get those “plump, delicious and tender” figs into the hungry maws of the consumer. “SEND ME THE FIGS!” (1930)

via eBay

Or one could just go to one’s local grocery and buy commercially prepared figs, such as these Mother Hubbard brand “fancy, skinless, fresh Texas figs in syrup.”

Once you had those jarred or canned figs in your possession, you had to do something with them. Luckily, there were specialized recipe booklets, like this one, published in 1929 by the Carpenter fig people. (Read the full booklet, recipes and all, here.)

Ideas include Fig Parfait, Fig with Cereal (not much of a “recipe” there, really…), Fig Cream Cake, and the ominous-sounding Stuffed Fig Salad.

That’s a lot about a squishy, borderline disgusting food I don’t even like.

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Sources & Notes

Sources of images noted, if known.

Want some actual information about Texas figs? Check out the article “Figs, A Texas Heritage,” by Richard Ashton, here.

And you know you want to know about the history of Nabisco’s Fig Newton:

• “Fig Newton: History and Invention of the Cookies” by Mary Bellis (fairly straight history)
• “Fig Newtons No Longer Exist — They’re Just ‘Newtons’ Now” by Alison Spiegel (entertainingly sarcastic)

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Copyright © 2018 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.