One common error I often see in American historical novels set in the latter half of the 1800s is the frequent use of lemonade being offered as a popular drink year-round. Whatever many pioneers—especially in the West—might have offered as a cold, non-alcoholic alternative to coffee or tea, it was probably not lemonade. Perhaps fresh or bottled juice or apple cider? Lemons—like all citrus fruit—were grown in Florida, the Southeastern citrus growing states, and California, or shipped by steamboat from Europe. No matter where one lived in the United States then, lemons were expensive.
In addition to lemons not being grown throughout the United States, they also had a limited growing season. Peak time for lemon harvest was from December through February, although, in some places, a small, secondary harvest period might last until June. Although there were ice houses in larger cities, and many farmers/ranchers preserved ice in dugouts to last most of the year, the capacity to preserve food through long-term freezing did not exist. The chances that our Western ancestors served iced lemonade made from fresh lemons in July or August was limited to non-existent. Lemon availability increased throughout the West only after the 1869 completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The cross-country railroads made shipping from Florida, the Southeastern citrus growing states, and California to other parts of the country possible.
WHERE DID LEMONS COME FROM, ANYWAY?
Tomb of Nakht
It is believed the lemon
(Citrus limon) is a native of northeastern India or Burma. They were known in Egypt. The earliest
references lemons can be found in Sanskrit and Chinese literature. The Moors
carried the plant into Spain, and Crusaders brought the plant back to Italy
from Palestine and Turkey.
During his second journey to the New World in 1493, Christopher Columbus carried lemon seeds and introduced citrus on the island of Haiti. From the West Indies, the lemon migrated to the mainland where it grew wild, since the climate was somewhat like that of southeast Asia. Records show that these citrus trees were well established in the American colonies in about 1565 at Saint Augustine, Florida, and in coastal South Carolina. In Florida the Indians are said to have used citrus and aided in its dissemination.
The Spanish Conquistadores and mission fathers furthered the spread of this and other varieties of citrus wherever they went in the Americas.
During the 19th century and in the first decade of the 20th century Italian fruit growers held a virtual monopoly on the sale of lemons in the United States. Fruit grown in Florida and in California was considered to be of poor quality and could not compete with Sicilian fruit. It took time for Southeast states and California to develop varieties that favorably competed with the fruit shipped from Europe.
ATTEMPTS TO GROW LEMONS IN SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
Commercial production of citrus in the Southeast was not significant until after the American annexation of Spanish territory in 1821 when the Spanish gave up their groves to the United States. Florida growers who took over those groves began shipping oranges, grapefruit, limes, and lemons to Philadelphia and New York by railway and ships in the 1880’s.
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Settlers from the United States took over Spanish plantings and the groves of trees which grew wild and began to ship citrus to other parts of the United States. Prior to the 1860's the commercial citrus crop of Florida was limited to the output of a few small groves in the northern part of the state. Most of the groves were located along the banks of the St. Johns and other rivers, since practically the only means of transportation was by river boats. The methods of culture, harvesting, and shipping were very crude, but in spite of the many handicaps the pioneer growers prospered. The building of railroad lines into the area in the early sixties brought about a rapid growth of the industry. According to a U. S. Department of Agriculture report published in 1887, by then, lemon culture in south Florida was making rapid strides. Although it was earlier believed by most people that a sweet rind, first-class aced, medium size lemon could not be produced on Florida soil, five varieties of commercial lemons began attracting attention.
BEGINNINGS OF COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION IN CALIFORNIA
The first plantings of citrus in the American Southwest were at the Spanish missions in Arizona between 1707 and 1710, and it is known that the lemon was growing in Baja California as early as 1739.
Citrus fruits were introduced in California by the padres around 1769. The first recorded citrus orchard was planted in 1804 at the San Gabriel mission, east of Los Angeles. In the early years, citrus were mainly grown in the missions from San Diego in the south to San Jose in the north and in garden plantings in the Los Angeles area.
The first commercial orchard was planted by William Wolfskill in 1841 near what is now the center of downtown Los Angeles.
Following the discovery of gold in California the influx of population resulted in a greatly increased demand for food of all kinds. The demand for an acid fruit was met by imports of lemons and limes from Europe and by an increased production of both these fruits within the state.
Prior to 1848 there had been little planting of citrus in the northern counties since most of the Spanish settlement had occurred to the south of the San Francisco Bay area. During the 1850's and early 1860's commercial plantings in these northern counties remained few in number for several obvious reasons. First of all, most of the people were engaged in a search for gold and were not interested in agriculture. Secondly, a large percentage of the gold miners came from the eastern part of the United States and from Western Europe and had no background in citriculture.
California Lemon Growing Districts
Starting in the 1870,
the citrus industry expanded quickly. The bulk of California's citrus
production was from Los Angeles County. While it was based on some 90,000 trees
in 1875, this number had increased to approximately 2 million trees in 1885 and
to 4.5 million trees in 1901. Commercial fruit production was concentrated in
the three Southern Californian counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San
Diego. (Personal note: I started First Grade in a San Diego County town named Lemon Grove.)
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| Golden Spike Ceremony-Transcontinental Railroad |
The completion of the transcontinental railways greatly promoted this boom. The Southern Pacific Railroad did not connect Bakersfield until 1874 and completed its connections between California and El Paso, Texas in 1881. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad did not reach Los Angeles until 1887. Before then, for lemons grown in Southern California to reach the Central Pacific (Later Southern Pacific) line that joined the Transcontinental Railroad, they had to be shipped north to either San Francisco or Sacramento.
The completion of the Transcontinental Railway further stimulated the citrus industry, since citrus could be rapidly sent to eastern markets. Competition among the railroads led to lower freight and passenger rates to and from California. Prior to 1885 it cost as much at $1000 to ship a carload of produce to Chicago. Early in 1885 this dropped to $400 a car. With the completion of the Santa Fe the freight rate between Los Angeles and Chicago fell to $200 a car. Later improvements of refrigeration helped to increase citrus growing and planting, mainly oranges, lemons, and limes throughout the world in 1889.
Very gradually California growers overcame their production and marketing problems and captured a larger and larger share of the world lemon market. Their share of lemon sales in the United States rose from a few percent in the 1880's to 18 per cent in 1900. By 1920 their share had increased to 75 per cent.
In spite of the lower freight rates foreign fruit could be delivered to the major eastern cities at a lower cost than could California fruit. There was still a freight rate advantage enjoyed by imported fruit in the eastern markets.
The domination of citrus production in the United States by Florida continued until several devastating freezes in 1894 and 1899 severly damaged citrus production. They virtually wiped out certain citrus varieties in the Gulf States. Again in 1916, a hard freeze heavily damaged the Florida and Gulf Coast citrus production. It was then citrus production of the United States began to shift from Florida to California. This lasted until just after World War II when the citrus crops in California developed disease. More citrus growth shifted back to Florida.
In my recently published Christmas romance, Lemon Cookies by Lisbeth, part of the Old Timey Holiday Kitchen series. One of the challenge she faces is the wait until lemons are readily available for sale at a decent price in her 1882 Rocky Mountain community. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE
please CLICK HERE
please CLICK HERE
Sources:
https://www.tytyga.com/History-of-the-Citrus-and-Citrus-Tree-Growing-in-America-a/381.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon
https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/FertilizerResearch/docs/Citrus_Production_CA.pdf
https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/m613n230z
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