Poke Sallet Shapes Jackson County’s History

Poke sallet, poke salad, Polk weed, pokeweed. Whatever you call it, this regional poisonous weed plays an important role in Jackson County’ history.

Jim Whitaker is a native of Jackson County. Whitaker said poke sallet, as it is called in Jackson County, is eaten mainly in spring and summer.

Whitaker said people in Jackson County have eaten the plant for as long as he can remember. No one that he knows of has become sick from eating poke sallet, Whitaker said.

“Well, I think it came from Indian Lore. It has always been used as a medicinal plant,” Whitaker said. “In the Springtime the sallet grows and it’s ingested and kind of works as a spring tonic, I guess we would call it.”

Whitaker said that he attributed the poisonous nature of the plant to a type of detoxing in Spring.  Typically, people can eat poke sallet once it is boiled repeatedly.

Poke sallet takes up in disturbed soil, Whitaker said.

“But it seemed like for some strange reason when people clear land, for instance dozing or clearing, in general, that way, the sallet plant is very prone to come up in those areas,” Whitaker said. “Now it’s so widely spread many places it will return each year and the people are just aware of that. It’s kind of like the morel mushroom, once you find that lucky spot you can go back every year and find it.”

Whitaker said he doesn’t know why it grows well in Jackson County but not in Putnam County or other surrounding counties.

Jackson County has the longest running Poke Sallet festival in the south. Whitaker was part of the commerce group when the festival started.

“I’m a past chairman for many years, and I am one of the original of the three, myself, Mr. Bobby Ellis, and Mr. George Samford,” Whitaker said. “We were the first original three chairman of the Sallet Festival forty years ago.”

Whitaker said Samford was the first to propose a festival for poke sallet.

“Well I think Mr. George Samford, who at that time was the editor of one of our local newspapers, approached the what is now the predecessor, I guess you would say, of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce,” Whitaker said. “And presented this idea and all of the local merchants decided it would be a great thing to do, to host in our town. It just slowly evolved with the community support it has now.”

Whitaker said the festival brought together the community to create a unique tradition.

The Poke Sallet Festival takes place Thursday through Saturday.