Neshannock Potato
Washington Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The once widely-known and choice variety originated just west of here, on a farm occupied by John Gilkey, 1798-1826. A brother, James, was fellow-worker. Their potato was also called Mercer or Gilkey.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On a farm just west of here, worked by John Gilkey between 1798 and 1826 with the help of his brother James, a new and prized variety of potato took root. Known as the Neshannock — and also called the Mercer or Gilkey — it became one of the most widely grown and admired potatoes of early nineteenth-century America, praised for its quality on tables across the young nation. It was a homegrown agricultural success story born on the western Pennsylvania frontier.
Why it matters
The Neshannock potato shows how ordinary farmers drove early American agricultural innovation, spreading a locally bred variety to fields far beyond its Pennsylvania birthplace.
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Related people
- · John Gilkey
- · James Gilkey
Themes & tags
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