Pumpkins are the ‘economic engine’ in Floydada, Texas

Floydada, Texas, which claims to be the “pumpkin capital of America,” is a bucket-list destination for many travelers. The town – with about 2,603 residents – is located on U.S. Route 70 within the High Plains section of the Texas Panhandle. 

Floydada is the county seat of Floyd County, which was named after Dolphin Ward Floyd, who was born in Nash County, N.C., in 1804. At some point, he relocated to the Texas territory and settled in Gonzales as a farmer. 

During the Texas Revolution, Floyd joined the relief force known as the Gonzales Rangers. They arrived at the besieged Alamo on March 1, 1836, to join the Alamo defenders who were fighting for independence from Mexico.

 

The unit from Gonzales was memorialized as the “Immortal 32.” Dolphin Ward Floyd was killed March 6, 1804, on his 32nd birthday. A Texas state historic marker on the Floyd County courthouse lawn in Floydada tells the full story. 

Today, the rural community of Floydada is banking on the sustainability of its main agricultural product – acres upon acres of pumpkins. The first person to try raising pumpkins there in the 1950s was B.A. Robertson. Everybody knew him as “Uncle Slim.”

 

Because Uncle Slim always referred to the jumbo-sized fruit as “punkins,” the annual fall festival hosted by the Floydada Chamber of Commerce is called “Punkin Days.” 

Floydada’s Pumpkin Pyle, a family farm, is the exclusive supplier to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. The facility creates an autumn display each year, using up to 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash in 52 varieties. The products are transported by trucks to Dallas from Floydada. It takes 12 tractor-trailers to get the job done.

 

This year’s theme at the garden is “A Fall Fairy Tale,” and the centerpiece is Cinderella’s magical carriage. It’s a fact that the carriage was inspired by the “Cinderella pumpkin,” which originated in France. (It is a large heirloom variety that is rather squatty and known for its classic ribbed shape and rich orange-red rind.) 

The Dallas garden contains an entire village of pumpkin houses as well as a maze of pumpkins for younger visitors. Check it out at dallasarboretum.org. 

While the garden exhibit requires a lot of pumpkins, farmers in and around Floydada have plenty to serve other customers. Area farmers will harvest about 2 million pumpkins this year. 

Pumpkins seem to thrive around Floydada, because the climate is ideal – arid and mild with cool winters and hot summers.

 

Pumpkin growing in Floydada “is truly a labor of love,” commented U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. “Because most of Floydada’s gourds are grown for fall decoration and not the cannery, each one must be hand-picked to avoid getting scratched. When you consider that some of the ‘Big Mac’ variety pumpkins top 100 pounds, September harvest becomes that much more impressive.” 

Tommy Ray and “Granny” Joy Assiter created Assiter Punkin Ranch in 1987. Both are deceased, so now, their son, Tim Assister, and his wife, Michelle, are running the business.

 

Here's Granny Joy along with Linus and the Great Pumpkin at Assiter Punkin Ranch.

“I think pumpkin farming is like car racing, rodeo, basketball or yoga,” Tim Assiter said. “It gets in your blood.” 

He said the best thing about raising pumpkins is “seeing the smiles on children’s faces” when they visit the pumpkin ranch. “The smiles are what keep us going.”

 

Overall, Texas ranks seventh among the U.S. states in pumpkin production. We’ll reveal the leading pumpkin state next time.