CHAPTER XXIII.

PARADISE RIDGE, TENN., NORTH ITALIAN TRUCK GARDENERS.

INTRODUCTION.

According to the United States Census for 1900, Tennessee had a total population of 2,020,616. Of this number only 17,746 were foreign-born, or, in other words, 99.1 per cent of the total population of Tennessee were native-born and 0.9 per cent were foreign-born. The following statement shows the number of persons of foreign birth by nationalities. Germany leads in the number of foreign-born, followed by Ireland, England, Italy, and Switzerland.

The 1,222 persons born in Italy represented 6.9 per cent of the total foreign-born population of the State; in addition, there were enumerated 1,295 native-born with one or both parents born in Italy, making 2,517 persons of Italian origin in Tennessee.

According to the census statistics on occupations there were in Tennessee 902 males and 92 females of Italian origin engaged in gainful occupations, distributed by occupations as follows:

TABLE 72.-Italians engaged in gainful occupations, Tennessee, 1900.

From the above table it is seen that 177, or nearly 18 per cent, of the Italian breadwinners of the first and second generations were engaged in agricultural pursuits in this State. Of those engaged in agriculture 78 of the males and 8 females were farm laborers and 74 males and 6 females were farmers, planters, or overseers.

Twelfth Census of the United States, Vol. I, Pt. I, pp. CLXXIV and CLXXV. Twelfth Census of the United States, volume on Occupation, p. 389 et seq.

In 1900 the largest Italian population was found in the cities of Memphis, in Shelby County, and Nashville, in Davidson County, these two counties having a total of 1,110 Italian-born persons, or over 90 per cent of the Italian-born population of the State. The comparatively large proportion of Italians in these two counties can be accounted for in two ways. First, the number of Italians that prefer the cities and work in small shops or on public works, and, second, the two largest Italian agricultural colonies in the State are located in these counties and near Memphis and Nashville. Possibly there are other colonies of Italians in this State that were not visited during the investigation by the Commission, and in the section of the State bordering on the Mississippi there are said to be a few Italian cotton growers as successful as those in the lower parts of the Delta. Only a cursory survey of the two colonies mentioned was made by the Commission. In both Memphis and Nashville the Italian was highly spoken of as a gardener and vegetable grower, and little trouble or disorder has ever arisen from this class of immigrants.

MEMPHIS.

From the report of the Industrial Commission" the following is taken:

In the outskirts of Memphis are located about 50 Italian truck farmers, for whom the community of that town seems to have great respect, judging from reports published by the American and Italian press. They all come from a well-known Italian town of the valley of the Po, Alessandria, and therefore their settlement is known as "La Colonia Alessandrina di Memphis.' Their pursuit of furnishing Memphis with fruit and vegetables proves profitable, and they are consequently well to do. Certainly this example deserves to be pointed out to the Italian cafoni of the American towns, and to those on whom it is incumbent to do something for them in the way of inducing them to go back to agriculture.

In the report of Signor Rossi, published in 1904, he speaks of the "beautiful kitchen gardens" owned by the Italians, and the Italian consular agent, Arata, then estimated that there were about 3,000 Italian farmers in Tennessee.

From what could be learned, in 1909 the number of Italian farmers around Memphis was about the same as in 1900. They are all truck gardeners, and sell their produce to the markets of that city. They compare favorably with the other truck gardeners that farm in the immediate locality. It is very evident, however, that the estimated agricultural population is very much exaggerated. Probably not 300 persons of Italian descent are at present engaged in farming in Tennessee.

PARADISE ridge.

Paradise Ridge is located 11 miles north of Nashville. The surrounding country is very hilly, and the grade is steadily upward from Nashville until the top of the ridge is reached. In the neighborhood of Paradise Ridge there are three races-Americans, Germans, and Italians, named in order of their numbers. The Americans have been in the locality for decades, the Germans moved in about

a Report of the United States Industrial Commission, 1901, vol. 15, pp. 503–504. Report to the Italian Royal Emigration Society, 1904.

1870, and five years later the first Italian purchased land. At present there are 15 families of Italians in the vicinity and all are truck farmers.

This little colony in the hills of central Tennessee was started through the efforts of an Italian merchant named Bozza, who kept a store in Nashville. This merchant had purchased a large tract of land in the locality and was anxious to turn his land into money at a profit to himself. He wrote to a friend in Italy to come to Tennessee and engage in farming. After some correspondence the friend came, arriving in the spring of 1876. The next fall his family arrived, with a brother-in-law. In February, 1879, five more families arrived from Italy; thus the beginning of the colony was made. Most of the early arrivals had very little money with them, so they were obliged to purchase land on time, paying 6 per cent interest.

All the Italians except two came from the town of Udine, in northern Italy. Here they had either been farmers for themselves or had worked on the farms of their parents. With friends in the city and a previous knowledge of agriculture, the farmers passed through the early days without any drawbacks or obstacles. There are now in the settlement 15 Italian families, numbering about 90 people. There has been no recent immigration to the locality, the last foreigner settling in 1903.

The farms vary from 20 to 60 acres, but only 50 per cent of the land is tillable. Corn and hay are raised to feed the live stock, but the commercial crops are garden truck and small fruits. Situated within 12 miles of a city of over 105,000 inhabitants, the demand for fresh vegetables and fruits is always good, and the Italians are able to sell all they raise at stands in the market place. Potatoes, sweet corn, strawberries, cantaloupes, watermelons, lettuce, carrots, beets, and practically every vegetable that will grow in this climate are raised by these people.

The houses owned by the Italians are frame structures of six or eight rooms; the houses and barns are generally painted and the interiors of the houses are well furnished. Each Italian farmer has a heavy two-horse wagon with a canvas cover in which he hauls his vegetables to market. The farmers start from their homes at 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon and drive to Nashville, for the early arrivals have the choice of positions in the market square; their produce is placed on sale the following morning.

All the Italians own their farms, which are practically unencumbered of debt. They have made notable improvements about their places since their first arrival. When they first purchased their land, $5 per acre was considered more than it was worth, but now it is valued at $30 to $50 per acre. There is little difference between the Italian and the German with regard to farming; both are good farmers and both excel the American truck gardener of the Ridge.

The two races found here are very fully Americanized. The clothes they wear are similar to those worn by the laboring American; the houses are well furnished and equal to any American house in the farming section. The women and children still work in the fields and prove a great help in the gardens.

The younger generation generally do the marketing, leaving the parents to work on the farm. There have been a few cases of inter

marriage between the Italians and Germans, but none between the Italians and Americans.

Farming is the only occupation available and the majority of the farmers have little time for anything else. The Germans and Italians remain apart, having their own amusements and social gatherings in which no outsider shares. In spite of their segregation they seem to have become Americanized as quickly as though they were in the midst of a city.

A few years ago the Italians built a small church. On the last Sunday of the month a priest comes out from Nashville and holds services. The sermons are in English, as all the Italians have picked up enough of the language to be able to understand it.

In 1908 a new district schoolhouse was built on land given by an Italian. Both Italians and Germans attend this school, and very little difference is noticed between them, either in mental capacity or in the studies pursued. The attendance is more regular than that observed in some Italian colonies.

The Italian men 21 years and over are all voters-30 in numberhaving secured their papers as soon as possible after coming to the locality. The evenly balanced character of the parties in the locality and the desire of each to gain a few additional votes may in a measure account for the unusually large number of Italians that have taken out their full citizenship papers.

These Italians are spoken of as being honest and truthful. They are well liked by those who trade with them and are regarded as very desirable citizens. They came to the locality when the whole country was covered with woods, and by clearing this away they have opened up new areas for cultivation. When one drives through the country and sees fields of strawberries on the hillsides and corn growing on the hill tops he may know that it is the work of Italian farmers. Hundreds of acres of worthless brush land in this locality might be turned into fields of profit if men were only found that would be willing to work as hard and faithfully as the Italians have done on Paradise Ridge.