The Southern Nursery Association was founded in 1899 when...

a group of nine men gathered at the American Association of Nurserymen (AAN) Convention in Chicago and decided to organize a southern association for the explicit purpose of dealing with a serious freight issue. 

N.W. Hale served as the first President of the Southern Nurserymen's Association. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws, and a second meeting was held on the first Wednesday in August 1899, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. About 50 nurserymen attended this meeting. It was apparent that two serious problems threatened the very survival of the nursery business in the South. The first, of course, was the problem of unfavorable freight rates on shipments to the Northern and Midwestern markets. The second was the lack of cooperation between various states and their inspection services and the fact that various states had different tag requirements and license fees. There was no reciprocity between states or regions. Thus, the Southern Nurserymen's Association was born out of a common concern for survival.

THE ERA of survival

The following is an excerpt from the SNA History Book, Chapter I, Page 4, written by Geddes Douglas, SNA President (1970).

When I was a very small boy, there occurred an event in my life that, even now, 66 years later, remains vividly impressed upon my memory. The President of the United States was coming to Nashville and my father, who was president of the Nashville Board of Trade, later to be known as the Chamber of Commerce, was to ride with him from the old L & N Railroad Station through the streets of uptown Nashville to the Ryman Auditorium, later known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry. President Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Nashville at 11 a.m. and was met by an entourage of 14 horse-drawn carriages and 12 automobiles. 
I can see my father now, dwarfed in size by this great, mustached, hulk of a man riding down Broad Street in a carriage with the top folded back. I think the thing that impressed me most was the fact that both men were in full morning attire, wearing immense top hats which they would tip at appropriate intervals to the crowds that lined the streets on this momentous occasion, October 7, 1907. 

Read more in the SNA History Book.

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The Southern Nursery Association was founded in 1899 when...

THE ERA of survival

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