Needle and Grain Provisions is excited to share our new line of house-made candles inspired by our home town, Columbia, TN! Mule Train is a careful blend of oakmoss and amber is a delicate, earthy scent with subtle notes of sweetness. Candle notes: Hand poured and packaged at Needle & Grain ~9oz soy wax candle USA grown soy clean burning fragrance (free of phthalates and carcinogens on the California Pro 65 list) Columbia: Mule Capital of the World The annual Mule Day celebration in Columbia, TN, remembers the important role that the mule trade has played in the community’s history. From the 1840s through the 1920s, Columbia was known as THE place to buy a good mule, a very valuable animal to farmers, especially throughout the South. Mules were faster than oxen and more sure-footed than horses, which made them a better choice for the kind of row crops like cotton and tobacco that made some southern planters very wealthy. The mule trade really hit its “hay” day during World War I, when both the British and American armies sent agents to town to purchase mules for the war effort. As the mule trade slowed due to increased mechanization of farm equipment, the annual springtime mule sale days evolved into more of a community celebration in the 1930s. Mule Day celebrations paused during World War II and ended completely around 1950. Mule Day as we know it today was started by the Bridle and Saddle Club of Maury County in 1974 to revive the tradition and remember Maury County’s agricultural history.
