“P” is for Pomaria Nursery. Established in Newberry District in 1840 by William Summer, Pomaria Nursery was one of the most influential and prestigious nurseries in the antebellum South. Among the fruit varieties developed at the nursery were the Pomaria Greening apple, the Pomaria Gage plum, the Pomaria Seedling strawberry, and the Pomaria Hebe pear. In the 1850s, the nursery produced ornamentals as well fruit trees. In 1858 its catalog offered 1,091 varieties of trees, plants, and shrubs—a number that had increased to more than 1,900 in 1862. In addition to the main nursery in Pomaria, there was an ornamental garden in Columbia and a rose garden in Fairfield District. Despite having gone into bankruptcy after the Civil War, Pomaria Nursery continued in operation until 1878 when its last catalog was issued.
