The Canning Industry of the Delmarva Peninsula

• Saturday, May 10 @ 1:00 pm
• Milford Public Library, Milford, DE

The Milford Museum American History Series will continue on Saturday, May 10, at 1:00 p.m. at the Milford Public Library in Milford, Delaware. Author Ed Kee will be presenting a program about the history of the Canning Industry in Delaware and throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. Baltimore and the Delmarva Peninsula became the center of America’s canned food industry for 100 years, from the 1840s to the 1940s. By the end of the 19th century, over 387 canneries were operating in Maryland and 49 in Delaware. By 1919, that number increased to 111. Over 1,800 wage earners were employed by Delaware’s canning industry.

From the 1880s onward Milford supported four to eight canneries well into the 1960s. Important canneries flourished in Frederica, Harrington, Bridgeville, Lincoln City, and Milton. Indeed, nearly every town in Kent and Sussex Counties had a vegetable cannery; many specializing in tomatoes. Change and competition from California and other competitive regions led to the decline of Delaware and Milford’s canning industry. However, four vegetable processing firms still provide a market for Delaware farmers. Two operate in Delaware, one in New Jersey, and one in Maryland. The primary products are peas, lima beans, and sweet corn. Three of those companies are freezers, one is a canner.

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