This is the follow-up to the “cliff hanger” of my previous blog! You may recall I wrote about Solano County's own “Gold Rush”. Now we'll see how the famous and sought-after “Early Fruit” of our county made it across the country—and what has happened to this thriving orchard industry today.
Between 1845 and 1910, because of Solano County's combination of warmer temperatures, heavy rainfall along the hills, and mountains that provided shelter from west winds, our county was known for the production of the earliest deciduous fruit in the United States. With the advent of refrigerated railcars in the 1880s, for the first time, fruit shipments could easily reach the East Coast markets. By the 1890s, the “Early Fruit District” of Vacaville had become famous for the first fruit of each season. In 1895, cherries from Cherry Glen were sold as early as March on the East Coast! Newspapers carefully noted the earliest date of each new crop.
Solano County orchards were also famous for stronger flavors. Without irrigation, the sugar became more concentrated in smaller fruits than had that intense flavor. Soon it was discovered that this trait was also ideal for making dried fruit.
With all the excitement about this mini “Gold Rush” of fruit, a promotional book, California Illustrated no.1, published. It described the Vacaville orchard district with hand-colored illustrations taken from photographs by WR Nutting. The book was a form of advertising, meant to encourage farmers to buy land near Vacaville by showing beautiful orchard scenes along with lavish Victorian homes.
As a side note, these very photographs will be featured in the upcoming exhibition at the Vacaville Museum: Center for Solano County History opening April 6th. In addition to the exquisite images, the show will feature an authentic fruit wagon, a packing and cutting shed, a kid-size packing shed for interactive activities, and contemporary photographs taken especially for the exhibit and shot from the very spots where the original Nutting images were taken!
From 1920-1940, there were many changes in the fruit industry. The San Joaquin Valley farmers began irrigating their trees which resulted in larger fruit and higher yields…the competition had arrived. The Depression forced fresh fruit to be considered a luxury that folks couldn't afford. And, there were orchard problems such as soil erosion in older orchards as well as disease in cherries that added to the industry's decline. So much so, that between 1925 and 1939, local fruit shipments dropped by 90 percent. The “golden years” of the fruit industry were over. Most who stayed in business sold their crops for dried fruit or to canneries.
However, during WWII, difficult times turned to good times once again. Dried fruit was needed for the U.S. troops. In 1958, the Monticello Dan was finished to supply water and the Solano Irrigation District was established. Through a series of canals finished in 1962, farmers could now have year-round water instead of waiting for rainfall for their crops. At this point, the County farmers had a much better chance to produce competitive crops. Today, more nut crops like walnuts and almonds are grown in Solano County and some still sell fruit to dry yards. Organic fresh fruit is also popular. Though much former orchard land has been developed, farming is still thriving in Solano County. Agricultural jobs make up 8% of Solano County jobs today—and we all love going to our local orchards, fields and farmers markets to partake of the wonderful bounty.