History Matters digs into the Delaware Historical Society’s archives each month to explore connections between key people, places, and events in history and present-day news.
Milton, Delaware has long prided itself on its ability to adapt. When one industry fades, the town finds a new one to take its place.
In the 1920s and 30s, as shipbuilding moved away from Milton, a new industry grew to take its place - one that for a time took root enough to influence the naming of Delaware’s state tree in 1939 - the Holly tree.
In the 1930s, wreath making generated around $1 million a year in revenue in Milton and other southern Delaware towns.
A family could make up to $500 in a season harvesting holly to make about 10,000 wreaths. So it was a great way to end the year - making some extra money and supporting the local economy.
In this month ’s History Matters, produced in collaboration with the Delaware Historical Society, Delaware Public Media’s Anne Hoffman visits the town of Milton to learn all about its once booming holly production and wreath making industry.
History Matters: The Land of Holly
History Matters: The Land of Holly
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This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
