John Endicott, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-1600s, was known as a religious zealot and hotheaded Puritan. He banished those who didn’t hold his religious views, but he is remembered for planting the oldest living pear tree in the Americas. The John Endicott pear, still alive today, has survived hurricanes, blizzards, and industrial development. It has been celebrated in art, poetry, as well as illustrated in books, and paintings from the 18th century. The Endicott pear was even favored by President John Adams. Governor Endicott also grew the very first apple tree in America.
Growing Home: The Endicott Pear Tree
