Pompions (pumpkins) have a long history in the Old Dominion

Sep 10

2 min read

by Jeff Ishee

September 10, 2026 - Pumpkins have been part of Virginia agriculture for centuries, beginning with Native American cultivation long before Jamestown. The Doeg people, living along the Potomac and Occoquan rivers, raised pumpkins alongside corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, and tobacco as part of their semi‑settled farming tradition. Their cleared fields and established crops later guided English colonists, who adopted pumpkins—then called "pompions"—as a dependable food source for surviving harsh winters.

Bright orange pumpkin on a vine in a field, surrounded by green leaves under a partly cloudy sky. — *Pumpkins have been grown in Virginia for hundreds of years, beginning with Native Americans along the Potomac River.* ***Image credit Mark Stebnicki***

By the 17th and 18th centuries, pumpkins were widely grown across the Tidewater. Colonial Virginians relied on a far broader range of pumpkin varieties than the few ornamental types common today, consuming them roasted, stewed, baked, dried, or fed to livestock (especially hogs). Pumpkins grew easily in Virginia’s warm summer climate and were valued as a versatile staple.

Pumpkin production surged again in the late 20th century as growers, Extension agents, and state agriculture officials organized to expand markets and improve varieties. A pivotal meeting in Hillsville in the 1990s led to the formation of the Virginia Pumpkin Growers Association, which helped scale production to several thousand acres statewide. Today, pumpkins remain a signature fall crop across the Commonwealth, supporting agritourism farms, roadside stands, and farmers' markets—continuing a tradition rooted in Native American agriculture and strengthened through centuries of Virginia farming.

Factoid:

The old word pompion is one of the earliest English names for the pumpkin. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it first appears in 1526 in The Grete Herball, centuries before “pumpkin” became standard.

Pompion came into English from Middle French pompon, which itself traces back through Italian popone to the Latin pepō, meaning “large melon.”

By the 1600s and 1700s, Virginians and other colonists used the word commonly, and you’ll still find it in old recipes—like “pompion pie”—and in literature, including Tobias Smollett’s Peregrine Pickle from 1751.