History of Blueberries in America

History of Blueberries in America
The blueberry is native to North America, whereas the closely related bilberry originated in Europe.

This fruit was used by Indians to make pemmican, which is prepared by mixing – sun or wind dried strips of meat with melted fat and various types to bring any of the wild types of blueberries under cultivation because an abundant supply of the wild plants grew throughout the eastern United States and wild blueberries were tart flavored, and the sugar materials suitable for sweetening them were in short supply until the mid – 1800s.

Americans began to consume greater amounts of blueberries after the supply of sugar increased sharply in the latter part of the 18th century, when the fruit became a popular ingredient of jams, jellies, pies and tarts.

The cultivation of blueberries in the United States was initiated in 1906 by Dr. F. V. Coville, a botanist in the US Department of Agriculture who selected wild highbush berry plants from New Hampshire and New Jersey for his experiments.

He noted that the wild plants thrived in swamps, but did not grow as prolifically in other environments.

Hence, he concluded that an acid soil was required.

By 1909, he was ready to begin crossbreeding different varieties in order to obtain higher yields of larger and sweeter berries.

Reports of Dr. Coville’s work were read by Miss Elizabeth White of Whitesbog, New Jersey (a small town located in eastern Burlington country a few miles south of Fort Dix, that was so named because the White family had extensive cranberry plantings in the local bogs.)

Miss White became interested in the cultivation of blueberries because she had often observed the wild bushes growing on her family’s land.

She began a long collaboration with Dr Coville, which resulted in her conducting experiments of her own and her family establishing the first commercial blueberry plantings in America.
History of Blueberries in America