The staff at the Watson-Brown Foundation in Thomson, Ga., has
followed the discussion of watermelon threshers with avid interest.
Until the recent mentions and photos appeared in Gas Engine
Magazine, we were under the mistaken notion that our “smasher”
was a one-of-a-kind device. Presently, the Tom Watson watermelons
are grown on part of the 256-acre Hickory Hill estate that belonged
to Senator Thomas E. Watson, the fiery Georgia populist statesman
who fought so valiantly for the rights of the farmer. Our
watermelon thresher is housed in a barn below the melon fields.
Each year in August, the foundation hosts a Tom Watson Watermelon
Festival. This year we plan to have a reconstructed thresher to
process the watermelons grown on site as a demonstration at the
festival on Aug. 16. With a little luck, we will recover enough
seed to give out to anyone who would like to help provide for next
year’s crop.
Michelle Zupan
Hickory Hill
502 Hickory Hill Drive
Thomson, GA 30824
(706) 595-7777
mzupan@hickory-hill.org
