OUR HERITAGE
A Premium American Spirit From Augusta, Georgia.
He settles in Plainfield, New Jersey, establishing a nursery growing a thousand varieties of fruits.
He completes Fruitland Manor construction, transforming it into the Berckmans’ mansion. The first commercial shipment of Georgia Peaches is sent from Augusta to the New York market. By this time, P.J. is known as the ‘father of peach culture’ in the South.
P.J. Berckmans founds the Georgia State Horticultural Society and serves as its president until his death.
His three sons carry on the family business; Louis Alphonse (L.A.) becomes president of the company, Robert Craig as vice president and Prosper Jules Alphonse Jr. (PJA Jr.) as secretary and treasurer.
The land is sold and preparations begin to build a magnificent golf course.
Berckmans Vodka is named after P.J. Berckmans, a Belgian who fell in love with the American dream and everything it stands for. He arrived in the United States in 1850 and through determination and a pioneer spirit he was able purchase more than 315 acres in Augusta, Georgia and establish Fruitland Nurseries.
He was passionate about horticulture and he planted over 300 varieties of peaches, becoming the father of peach tree culture in the South, varieties of peaches.
due to its ideal climate for horticulture and easy access to transportation. He purchases a 50% interest in the Fruitland property from Redmond.
and many other kinds of fruits and trees and Fruitland Nurseries. He developed and improved many types of peaches including the Chinese Cling, Elberta, Belle and Thurber peaches.
Fruitland Nurseries mails out approximately 25,000 catalogs to almost every part of the United States as well as Australia, China, Japan, Africa, the East and West Indies, Brazil, the Bermudas and every section of Europe and North and South America.
P.J. Berckmans sons initiated and successfully completed the largest peach deal ever made in Georgia, selling their entire year’s peach crop to a New Jersey firm for $100,000.
L.A. Berckmans, aged 74, returns to Fruitland to help design the course. Together, he and his brother save over 4,000 year old trees on the property. Each of the 18 holes is named after and dominated by a different plant. The following year, the golf course opens.
A Premium American Spirit From Augusta, Georgia.
Berckmans Vodka is named after P.J. Berckmans, a Belgian who fell in love with the American dream and everything it stands for. He arrived in the United States in 1850 and through determination and a pioneer spirit he was able purchase more than 315 acres in Augusta, Georgia and establish Fruitland Nurseries.
He was passionate about horticulture and he planted over 300 varieties of peaches, becoming the father of peach tree culture in the South, varieties of peaches.
He settles in Plainfield, New Jersey, establishing a nursery growing a thousand varieties of fruits.
due to its ideal climate for horticulture and easy access to transportation. He purchases a 50% interest in the Fruitland property from Redmond.
He completes Fruitland Manor construction, transforming it into the Berckmans’ mansion. The first commercial shipment of Georgia Peaches is sent from Augusta to the New York market. By this time, P.J. is known as the ‘father of peach culture’ in the South.
and many other kinds of fruits and trees and Fruitland Nurseries. He developed and improved many types of peaches including the Chinese Cling, Elberta, Belle and Thurber peaches.
P.J. Berckmans founds the Georgia State Horticultural Society and serves as its president until his death.
Fruitland Nurseries mails out approximately 25,000 catalogs to almost every part of the United States as well as Australia, China, Japan, Africa, the East and West Indies, Brazil, the Bermudas and every section of Europe and North and South America.
His three sons carry on the family business; Louis Alphonse (L.A.) becomes president of the company, Robert Craig as vice president and Prosper Jules Alphonse Jr. (PJA Jr.) as secretary and treasurer.
P.J. Berckmans sons initiated and successfully completed the largest peach deal ever made in Georgia, selling their entire year’s peach crop to a New Jersey firm for $100,000.
The land is sold and preparations begin to build a magnificent golf course.
L.A. Berckmans, aged 74, returns to Fruitland to help design the course. Together, he and his brother save over 4,000 year old trees on the property. Each of the 18 holes is named after and dominated by a different plant. The following year, the golf course opens.
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