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Every person who enjoys Welch's products owes a debt of gratitude to Ephraim Wales Bull, "The Father of the Concord Grape".
Born in Boston in 1806, young Ephraim cultivated wild, native grapes and other fruits in his backyard garden. Later he purchased 17 acres of land near Concord, Massachusetts and began growing grapes. Located on the Lexington Road, just east of the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bull’s farmhouse is still standing – and in the garden beside it stands the original parent vine of all the Concord grapes in the world.
Bull's farm had a sandy soil and a southern exposure, which made it good for grape culture. But at first, his efforts were not successful. Severe winters, late frosts in the spring or early frosts in the fall ruined his crops. However, he persevered. The Concord grape emerged as the dominant cold climate American variety; the culmination of years of experimental and painstaking cultivation. He tried 22,000 seedlings, and at one time had 125 vines which he considered valuable. In his search for perfection, however, he discarded almost all of them. He was trying to raise a hardy vine from seed. He looked about among the wildings of his farm. In one place he found a vine, the grapes of which seemed of a fair quality. He planted the grapes from this vine, skins and all, two inches deep, covering the row with planks. For six years he cared for these seedlings and at the end of that time found only one worth keeping.
Then, on September 19, 1849, he picked a bunch of grapes which, in flavor and appearance, were what he had sought. Year after year he planted the seed from this new vine. The result, in his own language, was: "I have grapes of great variety, many of them excellent, if my judgment is to be relied upon." Finally, he chose one as best. In 1853, the new seedling was exhibited before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and in 1854 Bull placed the grapes on the market, calling them the "Concord Grape" after the town of Concord. The success of the grape was immediate, and in a few years the Concord had spread from Massachusetts to the Mississippi. Horace Greeley called the Concord "the grape for the millions," and it was awarded the Greeley prize by the American Institute.
Today, over 400,000 tons of Concord grapes are grown annually in the major northern growing regions: the Finger Lakes District of New York, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Southwestern Michigan, and the Yakima Valley in Washington. |
