Distribution
"At the International Apple Growers’ Convention the first prize for high-class fruit went to W. S. Teator of Dutchess County, New York. Mr. Teator always stands up well among the prize winners for he is one of those growers who take a genuine pride in producing fine fruit. An apple idealist is something more than a man or woman who simply plants a tree and fertilizes, sprays and prunes it according to rule. A part of the grower’s personality must go into his prize fruit and thus one cannot imagine any narrow, sore, cross-grained “grouch” ever winning prizes at apple shows. He might do it once, by accident, but fine fruit culture does not thrive with such men. Men like Teator, Hepworth, Schauber and many others have shown what can be done in the Hudson Valley. The apples grown on the sunny hills of that section are unsurpassed in beauty and flavor. There is something about the air and soil of the valley which paints the apple and fills it with the very spice of life such as can be found nowhere else. Half a dozen of the best varieties reach about as near perfection in the valley as anything can hope to reach on earth! The strange part of it is that the Hudson Valley people do not seem to realize what nature is doing for them. If the valley fruit could be advertised and pushed as Pacific coast fruit has been, wealth and fame would fill the Hudson. Here and there individuals are realizing on their opportunities. Mr. Teator has sold fruit this year at $9 per barrel! As a rule, however, this beautiful fruit goes on the market unidentified. What the Hudson Valley needs is an apple campaign that will shake up the public and make them understand that these sunny orchards represent nature’s laboratory wherein she packs the best she has inside an apple skin. We wish that our army in Europe could have three of these apple[s] per day for each man! Nothing could stand before such an apple-fed army."
-"Hudson Valley Prize Apples," The Rural New-Yorker Volume 77 (1918): 1119.
William S. Teator lived throughout the entire Second Industrial Revolution, which lasted from approximately 1870 to 1914. The First Industrial Revolution primarily involved mass production of goods, but the Second Industrial Revolution is known for rapid development in science and technology and their application to production. Inventions in energy, chemicals, medicine, and materials gave way to increased effectiveness in scientific research and development—this was a time of innovation.
With the rise in progressive technology, goods were being produced at a rapid rate. Transportation became essential. Steam powered transportation in ships and trains became more efficient in speed, safety, durability, and comfort, lending themselves to be more accessible the public. Increased usage of ships and trains (and in the late 1890s, locomotives) led to a decrease in price to transport people and cargo.
This was the time in which Teator’s apples journeyed across the Atlantic (Teator even provided free shipping to Europe). Reaching destinations as far as Hamburg, Germany, the fruit from Upper Red Hook took on a cosmopolitan life. Compiled largely from receipts and letters, this is a map showing all of the places where we know Teator’s apples were sent. Teator’s farm is marked with a large green dot, and lines are drawn from there to the various domestic (note the many shipments to New York City) and foreign locations to which Teator shipped his apples.
By clicking on a given point, a link to the corresponding letter or receipt can be found for further inspection.
Works Consulted: