Annie's Crannies Cranberry History

Native fruit first cultivated in Dennis

Cranberries are a wild native fruit to Cape Cod. It is well know that Native Americans introduced cranberries to early Cape Cod
settlers and taught them how to use cranberries for medicinal purposes and to produce red dye. In the north village of Dennis, Henry
Hall discovered cultivated cranberries by accident in 1816. After cutting a stand of trees north of his bog for firewood, a northern
storm blew the exposed, native sands over his bog. Thinking his bog was ruined, Mr. Hall was amazed to find that his crop actually
increased the following harvest. This event inspired Mr. Hall to move all of his cattle to “Molly’s Pasture” (the very same bog as
Annie's Crannies) and experiment with the cultivation of the native fruit. His timing was perfect. Shortly after Mr. Hall's discovery the
ship building industry slowed. Many sea captains and ship builders turned to growing cranberries to make a living. Dennis remained
the cranberry cultivation center until 1850 when other cape towns joined in.

Dennis, Massachusetts was not only the birthplace of the cultivated cranberry, but to the invention and standardization of harvesting,
packaging, and shipping equipment and practices. In 1868, Captain Warren Hall invented an improved cranberry gatherer. In 1876,
Luther Hall (Henry Hall’s grandson), Zebina Hall and Captain William Crowell patented the cranberry picker. The most successful
invention was William Crowell’s fruit box, patented in 1877, which is still used today for cranberries and other fruits. Dennis
cranberry growers were also instrumental in standardizing the methodology for branding the variety, size, quality and durability of
cranberries which became the Rules for Branding in the 1880’s.

Howes Cranberries - Why is Howes a better berry?

In 1843, in the north village of Dennis on Scargo Lake, Eli Howes and James Paine
Howes developed the Howes variety. [The Howes berry can be picked wet or dry].

The Howes Variety:
•   Only grown in Massachusetts so local means fresh
•   Ripens later in the season than other varieties, just in time for the holiday season
•   Naturally stays fresher longer = better keeping quality
•   More rot resistant
•   Can be picked wet (by flooding bog) for juicing or dry for cooking