In the second half of the 19th century, Northwestern Michigan became celebrated for its fruit production. In 1870, the Atlantic Monthly noted that Lake Michigan moderated frigid blighting winds and created an ideal climate for various fruit trees, including cherries. By the late 1800s, commercial orchards thrived in the Grand Traverse region and several processing and canning facilities shipped cherries to customers nationwide, with freezing becoming a popular means of preservation in the early 1900s. Between 1911 and 2018, land use for cherries increased from 5,080 acres to 30,500 acres, and production exploded from 5,500 tons to 90,000 tons.
