Strawberry History
Strawberries have a history that goes back over 2,200 years. Strawberries grew wild in Italy as long ago as 234 B.C. and were discovered in Virginia by the first Europeans when their ships landed there in 1588.
Wild American berries and French Strawberries were crossbred as early as 1624. Early settlers in Massachusetts enjoyed eating strawberries grown by local American Indians who cultivated strawberries as early as 1643. Commercial strawberry growing began in America about 1800 near the largest eastern cities.
Strawberries moved west with the pioneers and were reportedly grown near Vancouver, Washington at the Hudson Bay Post in 1836. After 1860 strawberries were widely grown in many parts of the country.
In 1846, Henderson Luelling traveled with his family from Iowa to Oregon by wagon train with two extra wagon loads of fruit and nut trees and berry plants. Luelling’s plants thrived in the fertile Willamette Valley. In 1850 he opened a nursery in Milwaukee, Oregon. By 1870 he was advertising the Wilson variety of strawberries, which had been developed by James Wilson of New York, but were more suited to the Oregon climate. This variety helped establish the emerging strawberry industry in the Northwest.
Around 1880 the Clarks Seedling variety, a chance seedling found in the Mt. Tabor area in east Portland, became the first commercial strawberry variety because of its excellent shipping qualities. Strawberries were grown primarily in the Hood River Valley and were shipped by Southern Pacific Railroad across the country. The railroad helped farmers form shipping unions which enabled them to grow and ship almost double the amount of berries.
In the 1920’s the Marshall variety of strawberry was grown extensively in Washington, Oregon, and California. These were very large berries with an exceptional taste and firmness. Many, who have eaten them, hail Marshalls as “the finest eating strawberry”. Marshall Berries were important in the Oregon strawberry industry as they were the first berry that was processed by freezing. Marshalls continued to be grown well into the 1960’s.
In recent years Oregon’s production of strawberries has dropped, as farmers are forced out of the strawberry business because of declining price per pound and rising cost of production.
Climate conditions in Oregon dictate a three-week harvest period. Oregon’s berries are high in quality but costly to grow and harvest requiring a greater price in the market to remain viable. Currently Oregon ranks third in the nation in strawberry production, behind Florida and California. Compared to California’s 490 million pounds, Oregon is a niche market.
In California, most of the berries are day neutral varieties, providing longer harvest periods. Production per acre is considerably higher and cost of production is considerably less. The California market sets prices for Oregon strawberries, even though Oregon has a different product.
By the 1970’s California had a large and growing strawberry industry. California farmers were able to produce between 20 and 30 tons an acre compared to the 5 tons an acre grown by Oregon farmers. This began to drastically affect the market for Oregon berries.
Strawberries have been grown in California since the early 1900’s. Today, over 25,000 acres of strawberries are planted each year in California and the state produces over 80% of the strawberries grown in the United States. On average, each acre produces about 21 tons of strawberries and the state produces one billion pounds of strawberries a year!
Strawberries are from the Rosaceae family, and are of the Fragaria genus. They are not berries or fruit at all, but enlarged ends of the plant's stamen. Strawberry seeds are on the outer skin, instead of in the inner berry. There are about 200 seeds per berry.
The berries are non-fat and low in calories, rich in vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, fiber, and vitamin B6. Throughout history the strawberries have been used for medicinal purposes. They have been used for sunburn, discolored teeth, digestion, and gout. As far back as the 13th century, the Strawberry was used as an aphrodisiac.
There are many explanations of how strawberries got their name. Some believe that the name came from the practice of placing straw around the growing plants for protection; others believe the name originated over 1000 years ago because of the runners which spread outward from the plant. The name may have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon verb to strew (spread) and the fruit came to be known as streabergen, straberry, streberie, straibery, straubery, and finally, "STRAWBERRY’ to the English.
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