An incredible taste for pears dates back to ancient times. The alluring fruit even captured the praise of the well-known Greek poet, Homer (8th century B.C.), who referred to pears as a "gift of the gods." Evidently, the Romans agreed and proceeded to use grafting techniques to develop more than fifty varieties. They also introduced the cultivated pear to other parts of Europe. Since then, hundreds of varieties have been developed, and people have continued to benefit from the good taste of these early connoisseurs.

The Bartlett Pear variety originated in Berkshire, England, in the 17th century, by a schoolmaster named John Stair. Stair sold some of his pear tree cuttings to a horticulturist named Williams, who further developed the variety and renamed it after himself. After pear seedlings crossed the Atlantic with the early colonists, the Williams pear found fame and fortune in 1812, under the tutelage of nurseryman, Enoch Bartlett, of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Bartlett, unaware of the pear's true name, distributed it under his own name. Ever since, the pear has been known as the Bartlett in the United States, but is still referred to as the Williams pear, in other parts of the world.

Bartlett pear trees eventually came out West in the covered wagons of 49ers heading for the Great California Gold Rush.

Today, the Bartlett is America's favorite pear.