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As the Connecticut River Valley became more of a manufacturing area in the late nineteenth century, farming began to disappear to some extent. Tobacco was the one crop whose production increased, particularly from 1885 to 1914. Native Americans and early settlers had grown tobacco but not for sale. As cigar smoking increased in popularity, soil and climate conditions helped the growers of cigar leaf tobacco to compete with all others in the United States. Improved roadways allowed peddlers to carry the plug and twist tobacco the farmers grew and processed.