The Lawton blackberry (often referred to as New Rochelle and Seacor's Mammoth) originated in the village of

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and was the first widely cultivated variety of

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was either an accidental seedling from a wild variety of blackberry, or possibly a sort accidentally brought to this country by the French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

who settled New Rochelle in 1688. The fruit-bearing bush is from the genus Rubus, in the rose family, and bears large berries that grow to about an inch long. The first plant was discovered in 1834 by Lewis Seacor, who noticed the plant growing wild in a field owned by neighbor Frederick Prime. Seacor was initially drawn to the fruit on account of its large size and rich flavor and, in 1838, he removed some of the plants to his garden and began their cultivation. Several years later he began distributing plants to neighbors and townspeople whose interest in the new fruit helped spread its notoriety. Throughout the region the blackberry became commonly known as"Seacor's Mammoth". In 1848, George Seymour & Co., of Norwalk, Ct., nurserymen, obtained some plants and began working to increase their stock before advertising the new berry to the general public. At the same time, William Lawton, also of New Rochelle, obtained his first plants and spent the next several years working on their propagation. In 1853, Lawton showed the berries at a meeting of the "American Farmers' Club", stating that while he did not know who initially discovered the plant and brought it into garden culture, it was found on the roadside and thence introduced into neighboring gardens. The Farmers' Club passed a vote of thanks to Mr. Lawton, and named the fruit the "Lawton Blackberry". Individuals in New Rochelle, acquainted with the blackberry, knew of its discovery by Seacor and referred to the plant as "Seacor's" or "Seacor's Mammoth". It was also well known that Mr. Prince, owner of the farm where the fruit was found, actually destroyed many of the original bushes while making improvements to the property without knowing anything of their existence, and, was it not for Seacor's efforts, the fruit would have become extinct.

References

{{reflist Berries Rubus History of New Rochelle, New York