Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick

Horticulturalist and Historian

U. P. Hedrick was born at Independence, Iowa in 1870 to "restless parents" who moved the family to the woodlands of northern Michigan where they proceeded to create a farm. A love of nature motivated U. P. to study its mysteries from a very early age.

He received his B.S. degree from nearby Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing (now Michigan State University) in 1893. For the next two years he served as an assistant horticulturalist while working on his master's degree which he received in 1895.

Moving up the academic ladder, he spent two years (1895-97) as a professor of botany and horticulture at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University), followed by two years as a Michigan State Inspector of Orchards and Nurseries, from 1897 to 1899 at Utah Agricultural College, followed by five years as a Professor of Horticulture at his alma mater.

In 1905 he accepted a position at the New York State Agricultural Experimental Station at Geneva as a horticulturalist, worked towards and awarded a D.Sc. degree from Hobart College, Geneva, New York in 1913.

He was horticulturist at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, New York from 1905 to 1930. He had become Director of that institution in 1928 and remained in the position until his retirement in 1937.

He was a Fellow of A. A. A. S. and the New York Historical Association. He was also a member of the American Society for Horticultural Science and the American Pomological Society.

Professor Hedrick was also much concerned with apple breeding as a part of the Geneva Research Program. He was a very active pomologist and extended through his books a profound influence on his times and these publications are still frequently consulted.

U. P. Hedrick was one of the first scholars in the new field of agricultural and horticultural history. His works documenting this field are well known and referenced to this day.

Dr. Hedrick passed away in 1951.

Publications by or in collaboration with U. P. Hedrick:

A Talk On The Apple. Extension Bulletin 1, Michigan Agricultural College, East Lansing, MI. The apple in Michigan - history, marketing, reasons for loss of quality, increase in pests; cultural practices for production of quality fruit, including choice of varieties. This was the very first of thousands of Extension Bulletins released over the years by Michigan State University (formerly Michigan Agricultural College), 1904
Grapes of New York, 1908
Plums of New York, 1910
Cherries of New York, 1913
Peaches of New York, 1917
Manual of American Grape Growing, 1919
Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants, 1919
Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits, 1921
The Pears of New York, 1922 - Online Version
Systematic Pomology, 1925
Small Fruit of New York, 1925 - Online Version
The Vegetables of New York, 1929
History of Agriculture in the State of New York, 1933
Fruits for the Home Garden, 1944
Grapes and Wines from Home Vineyards, 1945
A History of Horticulture in America to 1860, 1950
Land of the Crooked Tree, 1948 - Reprint available at this link