Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Spanish Moss is common to Madison County and the deep south. Through the centuries, it has been called many things. Native Americans called it "itla-okla," which meant "tree hair." French explorers called it "Spanish Beard," obviously meant as an insult to the long beards of the Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish returned the insult, calling the moss "French Hair." However, in time, it was "Spanish Moss" that stuck as a title.
Regardless of its name, Spanish Moss has long been a favorite bedding place for chiggers, fleas, ticks, spiders and frogs. To be fair, chiggers only make use of the moss after it has touched the ground. Boll weevils, who eventually destroyed the local cotton industry, also are extremely fond of the moss.
Once the critters were extracted, Indian women were known to weave dresses from Spanish Moss. It was also good for use in blankets, ropes and mattress fillings. In the late 1800s, the moss was a cash crop in Madison County. Workers would use long poles to harvest the moss, usually during the winter months. One large tree could yield a ton of moss. American industries had expanded the use of the moss, using it for saddle blankets, bridles, car seats and as a filament to repair fishing nets.
Moss from Madison was generally sent to warehouses in Jacksonville, where it was sold for about 12.5 cents per lb. One Jacksonville warehouse, holding moss from Madison, burned in May of 1901, diminishing local profits for a while.
Some of the information for this article was taken from Tommy Greene's book, "Madison County: From the Beginning." The book is available for purchase at Greene Publishing, Inc., in Madison.