According to Esri – a leading supplier (or so they say) of GIS technology: "[around 1920], the boll weevil spread across the American South, decimating its cotton crops. The US State of Georgia was compelled to diversify its agriculture. What other crops could Georgians grow instead? They needed a new strategy.
"At about the same time, rail cars with refrigeration started to bring fresh fruit to new markets. Peaches became a crop that helped Georgia diversify its economy. Georgia earned a new nickname, the Peach State."
Georgia is the southernmost of the thirteen original US states. According to the State Symbols USA website, "Georgia–grown peaches are recognized for their superior flavor, texture, appearance and nutritious qualities".
Georgia may have the quality, but according to the Readers Digest it doesn't have the quantity; the state that produces the most peaches is California. In fact, peaches don't even make the top ten of Georgia's crops, in cash terms: they only generated an estimated $30 million for Georgia growers in 2012. Blueberries made more than three times as much – $94 million.
Georgia is also known as 'the Goober State' and 'the Empire State of the South'. 'Goober' is another name for the peanut – Georgia's "official state crop". Former US President Jimmy Carter is a native of Georgia, and before entering politics he worked in his family's peanut farming business.
The original Empire State, as is well known (if only through one of its most famous buildings), is New York. Like many US state nicknames, the origins of this one are obscure; it may be a reference to the state's considerable wealth and resources, and its aggressive trade routes. George Washington himself referred to New York, during the American Civil War, as "the seat of an Empire".
Georgia first became known as 'the Empire State of the South' in the years leading up to the Civil War, when it was the second largest state (by land area) east of the Mississippi river, and was rapidly industrialising.
© Haydn Thompson 2021