Middle Atlantic States: European Introductions of Food

One of the first European introductions to the Mid-Atlantic region was wheat. In 1626 the Dutch planted wheat in New Netherland (New York). The Native American corn was a better crop for the new land, but the desire for the staff of life (wheat bread) was too strong, and wheat was viewed as essential. Wheat thrived in the Mid-Atlantic region. Wheat was the chief agricultural product in New York State from the first Dutch settlements until the building of the Erie Canal in 1821 and was considered New Jersey’s staple crop in the eighteenth century. Wheat growing in New York began on Long Island but moved to the river flats of the Hudson because of soil exhaustion on the island. The Mohawk River valley, central New York, and finally the Genesee valley in turn became the principal areas of wheat production. During the first half of the nineteenth century, New York and Pennsylvania were the two leading states in wheat production, but after the introduction and expansion of the railroad by the 1860s, less expensive, better wheat became available from the western states and dominated the market.