Recently in agriculture Category

Apple developed by James Hersh of neighboring Adams County, c.1880

Over the years, York area people have taken pride in their fruit and vegetables, growing gigantic specimens or even developing new strains. Click on these links for previous posts on the York Imperial Apple and York Imperial Cherry.

Mr. Cicero proudly grew figs in his East King Street back yard in 1950s. A previous post showed Christian Leaman's 1809 pumpkin, as big as a barrel. George Anstine, of Lower Windsor Township, was not to be outdone. According to the York Gazette of October 30, 1855, Anstine brought his prize quince in to the newspaper office to be admired. According to the resulting article (see below), he also grew some pretty big apples. For comparison--I just weighed a very large peach and it only weighed half a pound.

Fig orchard on East King Street

I came across the striking photo above while looking for something else on the database at the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives. Volunteers are loading images from the vast photo collection into the database so that they can be easily viewed without handling the original photographs. I was surprised to see the lush, tropical fig trees growing in York County. How Mr. Cicero accomplished the feat is explained below, transcribed from the September 6, 1946 Gazette and Daily.

Check out this link to Mr. Cicero's Sicilian home town, Cattolica Eraclea. It is still only about 5,000 inhabitants, but it sounds like a great place to visit with lots of history, including a significant archaeological site of Greek ruins. By clicking Local Family Names on the site and doing a search, I found that there are about six people in Cattolica Eraclea now with the surname Cicero. There is also a list of families there with over 100 people per surname. There are some familiar local and national names on that short list.

York Imperial Cherries

I keep coming across references to fruit with York County origins, which I don't mind. I like fruit and this is a good place to grow fruit as well as enjoy eating it. The climate and soil are right for fruit trees to thrive. It's no wonder that local growers experimented with new cultivars with some success.

In a recent post I related an account of Confederate soldiers enjoying Napoleon cherries in 1863 at York Township's Springwood Farm, where Jonathan Jessop had developed the York Imperial apple some years before.

Click below for those previous fruit posts.
Confederate cherries.
Jessop's apple.

Did you know a York Imperial cherry was also patented by a York County nursery?

In my recent post on Jonathan Jessop and his York Imperial apple I mentioned that his son Edward raised a large family at Springwood farm. In 1930, one of those children, Little Rock, Arkansas businessman Alfred Jessop, wrote back to York to his brother Jonathan. He recounted his memory of Confederate soldiers visiting the farm in 1863.

Click here for previous Jessop post.

The letter reads in part:

York Imperial from USDA Bulletin

The York Imperial apple won't win any beauty contests. I have several in my fruit bowl right now and they all look different. They come in various shadings of red and green with brown freckles. Shape isn't uniform either--one is round, one is lopsided and one is...well, a kind of lopsided oval that's higher on one side than the other.

Beauty isn't what has kept Jonathan Jessop's York Imperial apples popular for over 150 years. It's their firmness and long keeping qualities that made them a favorite for storage and still keeps them in the high esteem of fruit processors.

See below for my recent York Sunday News column on clockmaker, engineer and fruit farmer Jonathan Jessop and his apple.

William Wagner drawing of Newberry St. at Philadelphia St. Buildings in background at Upp vineyard, now Farquhar Park.