In 1954, Hermon Allen, principal of the Luling Elementary School, proposed the idea of a celebration to honor the growers and promote the Luling watermelon market. A contest was held to name the event and the winner was a young man from Luling High School, Mr. Carol Ferguson. From that time, the Thump has been held the last Thursday through Sunday in June.
 
Time changes everything and the Thump has been no exception. Numerous events and attractions have been added and the 4 day annual event now draws an estimated 30,000 visitors to a town of 5,000.