Trains, Boeing, hops. What do those words make you think? How about beginnings, our beginnings. It is true there are many things that turned the community of Auburn into the flourishing place it is today. One of the earliest influences was–hops. Hops are small cone shaped buds that grow on vines. These vigorous plants can grow up to six inches in a single day. There are many hop farms around the world. Most of the crops are used to flavor and stabilize beer.
Around the 1880’s Auburn was gripped by a hop craze. The price of hops hit an all time high, thanks to a major crop loss in Europe. Fulfilling the need for the bitter bud demanded a lot of work. Many workers toiled from dawn till dusk planting, harvesting and just keeping the hops healthy. The hops craze ended in the 1890’s after an infestation of aphids. In the early years of our community hops were a large part of the economical engine in Auburn. Hop farms supplied work, money and enjoyment for just about everyone whether it was growing, selling or drinking the resulting beverage.
During the craze Auburn’s community bustled thanks to the influx of money. In a good year during during the boom farmers could expect to earn four hundred dollars or more per acre of hops. You can imagine how incredibly disappointing it was when an aphid infestation wiped out the industry and spelled the end of the Auburn hops craze.
Even today you can spot wild hop vines growing along roadsides or in fields. The perennial vine is even grown in backyards and used by home brewers to make their own beer.
When we look back into our past we should remember those times. They helped shape what we are now.
Guest Author Ian Bruner was born in Tacoma in 1992. He moved to Auburn in 2003 and is now a flourishing author and musician.
The Hop Pickers photo is courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society Research Center located at 315 North Stadium Way in Tacoma. The Research Center’s Hewitt Research Library and Special Collections are open to the general public, via the special collections reading room on the 3rd floor of the building, by appointment only, Tuesday-Thursday from 12:30PM to 4:30PM. Additional opportunities for visitor research of Society’s Collections are available via their Featured Collections, Collections Highlights, and Finding Aids