Shipping Sussex County watermelons from Laurel in early 1900s

Many people will be eating watermelon over the upcoming July Fourth holiday weekend. Sussex County’s farmers have long been important suppliers for the mid-Atlantic cities, and that continues today. Laurel is the center of the county’s watermelon wholesale action with regular auctions attended by urban grocery buyers. 

This photograph from the early 1900s shows a train being loaded with watermelons.  This particular train is said to have included 45 cars each carrying more than 1,200 of the sweet fruit.  Hundreds of thousands of watermelons are shipped each summer.