The Fruit Belt

The Fruit Belt is a Michigan historical marker in Benton Harbor, Berrien County, dedicated 1958.

Berrien County · dedicated 1958 · Territorial Road, Benton Harbor

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Because of Lake Michigan’s moderating effect, a narrow coastal strip from Indiana to Grand Traverse Bay, three hundred miles north, is blessed by a climate uniquely suited to fruit growing. This fact was observed by the 1840s when peaches already were being shipped from Berrien County to Chicago. Apples, cherries, berries, grapes, pears, and plums added to the fame of the “fruit belt.” One of the world’s great fruit markets has developed here in Benton Harbor to provide an outlet for these bountiful crops.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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The Fruit Belt

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