Up In Smoke: The History of Syracuse’s Cigar Industry

Rudyard Kipling was quoted as saying “A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.” Despite media reports regarding the perils of smoking, cigar smoking continues to be popular. 

Both tobacco farming and cigar making were a significant part of Onondaga County’s economy at the turn of the 20th century. In fact, as late as 1910, tobacco was listed as Syracuse’s 10th largest industry. 

The cultivation of tobacco in Onondaga County began around 1845. Individuals from Connecticut, known for its tobacco farming, were brought to the area to introduce the crop to local farmers. Many of these farmers grew an acre or two for extra income. A large proportion was in turn sold to local cigar makers. Baldwinsville was the center of this production and farmers brought their tobacco to be sold to the town’s large packing houses where it was cured and prepared for use. The tobacco grown in the North at that time was used primarily for cigar and cigarette production as the leaves were of higher quality, whereas tobacco grown in the South was cultivated to be ground up for chewing tobacco. Eventually national production quotas established after World War II favored Southern growers forcing local farmers to phase out their tobacco crops as it was no longer economically advantageous. The last known area crop was harvested in 1957.

As mentioned, many of the local growers sold their tobacco to local cigar makers. At one point, Syracuse boasted 80 cigar makers. Some of these operations were run from private homes where only two or three individuals were employed. Other makers provided employment for up to 400 workers. John P. Hier was one of these major cigar makers. Hier came to this country from Germany and, at eight years of age, sought employment at a tobacco factory to supplement his family’s income. After his father’s death, Hier continued on at the factory. While still a teenager, he became the foreman of his department and at 31, he took $300 of his savings and began his own business. 

Hier subsequently employed anywhere from 200 to 400 workers depending on the demands of the public. After a long and prosperous career, Hier sold his business in 1899 to Syracuse Cigar & Tobacco Co. That firm became the largest cigar manufacturer in Syracuse. Several months later, it acquired two more local cigar companies. Despite producing more than 20,000 cigars a day, the company could not keep up with the backlog of orders so it ran help-wanted ads in Boston, New York City, and Binghamton–area newspapers. Another one of Syracuse’s leading cigar manufacturers was Justin Seubert. He emigrated from Germany when he was age 17. Seubert had apprenticed as a cigar maker at a leading cigar factory in Germany, where he learned the trade that would support him for the rest of his life. In 1866, after moving to Syracuse from New York City, he began his cigar business with two employees. He rapidly expanded the business and, in its heyday, employed more than 200 people. 

Eventually, with the increased popularity of cigarette smoking, combined with the fact that local tobacco was no longer available, Onondaga County’s cigar industry faded away.           

Karen Y. Cooney is support services administrator at the Onondaga Historical Association, or OHA, in Syracuse.