Because of Lake Michigan's moderating effect a narrow coastal strip from Indiana to Grand Traverse Bay, 300 miles north, is blessed by a climate uniquely suited to fruit growing. 

By the middle 19th century, fruit was being regularly shipped across the lake from Berrien County orchards to a bustling Chicago market. 

Apples, cherries, berries, grapes, pears and plums added to the fame of the "fruit belt." One of the world's great fruit markets developed in Benton Harbor to provide an outlet for these bountiful crops.

The two- or three-hundred miles along the west shore of Lake Michigan [are] very adaptable [for] growing fruit and vegetables.  Because of its diversity, [Michigan will] always be a prominent factor in agriculture [due to its] growing conditions and the closeness to the markets.  We have Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Cincinnati.  There [are] a lot of people in those cities that are within a hundred or a few hundred miles of the market place.  - Sam Monte

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