The pawpaw is a little-known fruit that grows throughout Appalachia, with most of the largest ones with the best fruits at the North end of the mountains, in Southeast Ohio and West Virginia. And if we know one thing about local Athens culture, it’s that, for some reason, pawpaws are high-key our pride and joy. It might as well be the representative fruit of Athens. We have a festival, we make beer and t-shirts about it – we’re obsessed. Many people who are new to Athens or visiting the area for the first time have a pretty legitimate question about this sort-of-secret fruit: What is a pawpaw and why does Athens care about it so much?
A Brief History of the Pawpaw Fruit
This crazy little tree has been around for millions of years – literally. When megafauna still ruled North America, they spread the tree all over as they moved from place to place. When all the megafauna died out, most archaeobotanists attribute the tree’s ability to reproduce vegetatively on its own to why it survived. It’s not like apples, where special conditions and a partner are the only way a tree will bear fruit; pawpaws just do it on their own, with no necessary management or domestication. That’s why you can see them all over the bike path, in the woods at Stroud’s – once you know how to spot them, you’ll realize they’re everywhere.
Archaeologists assume the population density of the pawpaw tree in Northern Appalachia is due to movements of the Iroquois – a large, diverse and deeply ancient tribe that used the Northern Mid-Atlantic for living, hunting and forest management. Forest management, which is kind of like if agriculture were actually sustainable, made for larger pawpaw trees that bore larger fruit over time. And then, when Europeans immigrated here, they made use of the fruit, too. Apparently, George Washington loved to eat them frozen as desserts.
But What is it, Though?
You can take a look at this article here for a European POV on the history of this fruit tree. It has several photos and renderings that will make it easy for you to spot a pawpaw tree anywhere. The pawpaw fruit hangs in bunches, kind of like bananas? But not. And it kind of tastes like if a banana and a mango crossed? But also kind of not. And then when you use it for brewing, the beer ends up tasting kind of grapefruity? But also kind of not.
See? Wasn’t that helpful?
… kind of not.
Why is the Pawpaw Athens’ Pride and Joy?
Well, first of all, we aren’t the only small Appalachian town to truly appreciate and cultivate this beyond-ancient fruit tree. But the cool thing about the pawpaw is, besides the fact it’s an edible fruit tree that’s abundant in the area, it’s the only fruit tree truly native to Mid-Atlantic Appalachia. Southeast Ohio and its cultures are poorly-understood and a little invisible – just like this fruit tree. So, of course we want to celebrate and elevate something that we’re proud of! It’s a part of our identity.
Plus, the Pawpaw Festival the community holds a few minutes away from town in Albany is a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s super-fun, with diverse vendors of arts, wares, foods, and usually a tent where knappers make replicas of Native American tools. We even have a pawpaw mascot costume people can play around in. No, really; we do. Just like the festival celebrates this truly strange standalone fruit tree, it celebrates Athens and Northern Appalachia at-large. And what’s better about small town pride than unique things like that?