Peaches are native to northwest China and believed to have been first domesticated along the Yangtze River, where fossilized peach stones have been found from thousands of years ago. Peach blossoms were an especially important cultural item for the Chinese - the blossoms were hung on doors for new year celebrations and carried by soldiers who preceded emperors traveling from town to town(1). The Chinese would end up spreading peaches to Persia, where they were grown widely(2). Alexander the Great brought peach seeds to Europe as a result of his conquest of Persia(1,2). The scientific name of peaches, Prunus persica or "Present from Persia," was a Roman/Latin tip-off to Europeans getting peaches through there(1). Ancient Herculaneum, ravaged by infamous Mount Vesuvius, had peach paintings on its walls(2).
"In the 16th century, Spanish explorers brought the first peaches to South America"(1) and it was actually in the century after that that the fruits came to England(1,2) where it remained a delicacy(1), widespread with the Victorians as a dessert(2) including with Queen Victoria herself(1).
Early 1600s English colonist George Minifie may have planted the first North American peach tree at his Virginia abode. Thomas Jefferson planted some at Monticello(1). The Elberta peach, the most widespread in the world, was first produced in 1875 in Georgia by Samuel H. Rumph and a trial shipment fetched $15 a bushel in New York City. Mr. Rumph designed railroad cars with ice bunkers and iced boxes on casters for transporting peaches and essentially gave away his railcar design. Elberta peaches grew in "all soils and climates, from the Gulf to the Great Lakes, the Atlantic to the Pacific"(3).
References:
1. Frog Hollow Farm. "The History of Peaches | Frog Hollow Farm | Where Did Peaches Come From." Frog Hollow Farm. Frog Hollow Farm. 27 Apr. 2017. Web. 20 Dec. 2021. https://www.froghollow.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-peaches-frog-hollow-farm-1.
2. Jillian. "The History of the Peach." Kingsburg Orchards. Kingsburg Orchards. 25 Jul. 2013. Web.20 Dec. 2021. https://www.kingsburgorchards.com/peach-history-blog.
3. "Peaches." University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. University of Georgia. Web. 20 Dec. 2021. https://peaches.caes.uga.edu/history.html.
"In the 16th century, Spanish explorers brought the first peaches to South America"(1) and it was actually in the century after that that the fruits came to England(1,2) where it remained a delicacy(1), widespread with the Victorians as a dessert(2) including with Queen Victoria herself(1).
Early 1600s English colonist George Minifie may have planted the first North American peach tree at his Virginia abode. Thomas Jefferson planted some at Monticello(1). The Elberta peach, the most widespread in the world, was first produced in 1875 in Georgia by Samuel H. Rumph and a trial shipment fetched $15 a bushel in New York City. Mr. Rumph designed railroad cars with ice bunkers and iced boxes on casters for transporting peaches and essentially gave away his railcar design. Elberta peaches grew in "all soils and climates, from the Gulf to the Great Lakes, the Atlantic to the Pacific"(3).
References:
1. Frog Hollow Farm. "The History of Peaches | Frog Hollow Farm | Where Did Peaches Come From." Frog Hollow Farm. Frog Hollow Farm. 27 Apr. 2017. Web. 20 Dec. 2021. https://www.froghollow.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-peaches-frog-hollow-farm-1.
2. Jillian. "The History of the Peach." Kingsburg Orchards. Kingsburg Orchards. 25 Jul. 2013. Web.20 Dec. 2021. https://www.kingsburgorchards.com/peach-history-blog.
3. "Peaches." University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. University of Georgia. Web. 20 Dec. 2021. https://peaches.caes.uga.edu/history.html.
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