Museum program to highlight Delmarva’s canning industry May 10
The Milford Museum American History Series will continue at 1 p.m., Saturday, May 10, at the Milford Public Library, when author Ed Kee will present a program about the history of the canning industry in Delaware and throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. Baltimore, Md. and the Delmarva Peninsula became the center of America’s canned food industry for 100 years, from the 1840s to the 1940s. By the end of the 19th century, more than 387 canneries were operating in Maryland and 49 in Delaware. By 1919, that number increased to 111. More than 1,800 wage earners were employed by Delaware’s canning industry.
From the 1880s onward, Milford supported four to eight canneries well into the 1960s. Important canneries flourished in Frederica, Harrington, Bridgeville, Lincoln City and Milton. Nearly every town in Kent and Sussex counties had a vegetable cannery, with many specializing in tomatoes. Change and competition from California and other regions led to the decline of the canning industry in Delaware and Milford. However, four vegetable processing firms still provide a market for Delaware farmers – two in Delaware, one in New Jersey, and one in Maryland. The primary products are peas, lima beans and sweet corn.
Kee served as Delaware’s secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017. He was the farm manager for Nassau Orchards before joining the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, serving for 30 years. Kee has authored or co-authored more than 30 articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals in agriculture and history, and has written five books on local agricultural history. He co-founded LEAD Delaware, the state’s leadership program for young farmers and agriculturists. Kee also led the formation of Delaware Agriculture Week in 2006. In 2010, Kee served as president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and he was instrumental in attracting major food processors to Delaware.
Sponsored by the Milford Museum, these monthly programs focus on a variety of topics concerning local, state and national history. Presentations are held at 1 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month at the Milford Public Library, 11 S.E. Front St.. For more information, call 302-424-1080.
