Background & History of the Cranberry

CRANBERRIES

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The Cranberry
...one of only three fruits native to North America!

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is native to the swamps and bogs of northeastern North America. It belongs to the Heath, or Heather family (Ericaceae), which is a very widespread family of about 125 genera and about 3500 species! Members of the family occur from polar regions to the tropics in both hemispheres.

The cranberry plant is described as a low-growing, woody perennial with small, oval leaves borne on fine, vine-like shoots. Horizontal stems, or runners, grow along the soil surface, rooting at intervals to form a dense mat. Its flower buds, formed on short, upright shoots, open from May to June and produce ripe fruit in late September to early October. In Maine, blossoms appear during the 1st to 2nd week of June, and berries are usually not fully ripe until the first week of October, which is when most Maine growers begin to harvest their beds.

Cranberry Industry Overview and Background
(Taken partially from the "Cranberry Agriculture In Maine: Grower’s Guide - 1996 version") The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) grows wild from the mountains of Georgia to the Canadian Maritimes, and as far west as Minnesota. It has been cultivated in the Cape Cod area since the early 1800s and was an active industry in Maine during much of the last century. The cultivated cranberry industry then spread to New Jersey by the 1830s, Wisconsin by the 1850s, and the Pacific Northwest by the 1880s. Many Maine farms with suitable land produced small plots of cranberries, mostly for home use and a small marketable surplus. The Maine commercial cranberry industry was virtually eliminated in the early 1900s by a combination of factors, including lack of adequate technology for frost protection, the spread of disease and pests, depressed demand during World War I, the increasing trend toward specialized farming, the replacement of fresh cranberries in the market with the new canned cranberry sauce, and its relative distance to markets. Cranberry production is a vital "new" industry in the State of Maine. It is a "new" industry in the sense that it is the rebirth of an industry that left the State in the first half of this century. In 1988 there were no commercial producers in the state. However, 1991 saw Maine’s first modern commercial harvest and by 1992 there were at least five growers with planted vines and several new plantations under development. There are now, as of March 2002, thirty-nine growers in the state, with roughly 267 acres.

1550 Native Americans use cranberries for food, dyes and medicine.
1620 Pilgrims learn to use cranberries from the Native Americans.
1683 Cranberry juice made by settlers.
1816 Captain Henry Hall first cultivated cranberries in Dennis, MA.
1820s Cranberries shipped to Europe for sale.
1838 First record of ice sanding on bogs. Flooding first used to control insects and prevent frost damage.
1843 Eli Howes cultivated Howes variety of cranberries in East Dennis, MA.
1845 “An Act for the Protection of Cranberries on Gay Head” put forth by Gay Head Indians on Martha’s Vineyard.
1847 Cyprus Cahoon cultivated Early Black variety cranberries in Harwich, MA.
1850s First cranberry scoops used for harvest.Water harvesting tried, but abandoned. Seamen used cranberries to prevent scurvy at sea.
1854 First census on cranberry acreage - 197 acres in Barnstable County, MA.
1856 The Cranberry and its Culture published by Benjamin Eastwood.
1860s Maine has over 600 acres of producing cranberry bogs.
1863 US Department of Agriculture created Massachusetts Agricultural College (University of Massachusetts) founded. Abraham Lincoln proclaims first national Thanksgiving.
1868 Standard 100 lb. barrel of cranberries sold for $0.58 in Philadelphia, PA.
1871 American Cranberry Growers’ Ass’n formed in Massachusetts.
1870s Six quart pail used as standard picking measure.
1887 Snap scoop invented for younger vines by Daniel Lumbert.
1888 Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Ass’n
formed in Massachusetts.
1906 Henry J. Franklin - Began formal agricultural research on cranberries.

1907 First market co-operative - New England Cranberry Sales Company founded.
1910 Cranberry Experiment Station research facility established - Wareham, MA.
Dr. Henry J. Franklin named first director of Cranberry Experiment Station. More efficient rocker scoop used.
1912 Hayden cranberry separator patented. First cranberry sauce marketed, Hanson, MA.
1920 Oscar Terbo invented first mechanical ride-on dry harvester known as Matthewson. Telephone frost warning system started.
1923 Bailey Separator patented to grade and separate cranberries by bouncing the berries.
1930 Ocean Spray formed as a grower-owned marketing cooperative - one of the three founding members was Marcus Urann, native of Sullivan, ME.
1930s Women allowed to use scoops.
1947 Walk-behind mechanical dry harvesters replaced hand scooping.
1953 First million-barrel national crop.
1959 Cranberry scare causes industry market to crash.
1960s First successful water harvesting Sprinkler systems installed on most bogs. Cranberry products diversify and market expands
1970s Integrated Pest Management program used.
1983 Formal IPM programs developed.
1980s International market developed for cranberries and cranberry products become ingredients in other products.
1989 Maine Cranberry Growers Ass’n formed.
1995 Crop of 4,200 barrels harvested in Maine.
1996 Dr. Irving Demoranville retired from Cranberry Experiment Station in MA Per barrel return as much as $90.
1998 UMaine Cooperative Extension adds a cranberry specialist to their organization (thanks to the State Legislature and the Maine Cranberry Growers Association)
2002 Two independent studies find that antioxidants—which cranberries are high in—appear to provide some significant protection against Alzheimer’s disease
2004 Crop of 21,000 barrels harvested in Maine

If you have comments or questions about this page,
contact Charles Armstrong at: charlesa@umext.maine.edu

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These pages are currently being maintained by the Pest Management Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Page Last Modified: 04/11/08