Incorporated in 1857, Crystal Springs and its surrounding network of truck farms achieved its greatest growth after the 1880s when refrigerated railroad cars made Copiah County’s fruits and vegetables accessible to northern cities. Italian immigrants introduced tomatoes, and by the early twentieth century Crystal Springs proclaimed itself “Tomatopolis of the World.” Only one packing shed (1935) out of twelve survives, a long one-story structure clad in corrugated metal at 205 W Railroad Avenue. This and the two-story Truck Growers Association Building and Warehouse (1915; 214 E. Railroad) recall the tomato industry’s historical importance to the town. The Colonial Revival U.S. Post Office (1940–1941, Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury; 301 E. Marion Avenue) contains Henry La Cagnina’s 1943 mural, Harvest, which depicts farm workers harvesting and packing tomatoes and other vegetables.
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