A Farming Heritage

A Farming Heritage. . , Farming played an important role in the city of South Haven's development, from multiple varieties of fruit to dairy products. The first peach orchard was planted in 1853 by Stephen B. Morehouse and in 1857, Aaron S. Dyckman cultivated the first commercial peach orchard. The following decades saw thousands of baskets of fruit shipping to distant communities, helping launch South Haven's reputation as a major contributing part of the Michigan fruit belt. Since these beginning years, the fruit industry in South Haven has grown tremendously, expanding from peaches to strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, pears, and more. , , Dr. Liberty Hyde Bailey Jr. was raised on one of these first orchards and learned how to graft apples at a young age. He attended the Michigan Agricultural College and lived to become a world-renowned scientist, philosopher, and visionary leader, known as the Father of Modern American Horticulture. Today you can visit the original farmhouse at the Bailey Museum and Gardens in South Haven, a National Historic Site. , , The Sherman Dairy was established in 1908 with a small herd of dairy cattle. Ralph Sherman and his sons, Rupert and Harry, processed milk and delivered the milk locally by a horse-drawn wagon, and later by automobile. In the 1950s, the first batches of Sherman's Ice Cream were made by a son of Rupert, Porter Sherman. The dairy farm was later sold, but Sherman's Ice Cream continues to be a well-known and loved business today.