The Hiley Peach

Hiley peach

Following on from last week's story of a ship named after a notable Hiley, this week's post features a fruit named after another notable Hiley.

Eugene Walter Hiley was a descendant of Georg Heyle who left Germany and arrived in Philadelphia in 1732. Georg's family adopted the surname spelling Hiley.

Eugene was born in Marshalville in Macon County, Georgia in 1860. He developed a strain of peaches known as the Hiley Belle peach. This peach was heavily planted throughout the middle Georgia region for several decades. It is now known as the Georgia Belle peach.

From 'The Peaches of New York' Annual Report 1917:

In spite of keen competition with many other early, white-fleshed peaches, there seems to be  a place for Hiley. Two characters make it notable in its class. It is the earliest commercial freestone, white-fleshed peach and it is rather better in quality than most of its competitors. Well grown, the peaches are large in size and handsomely colored but the fruits are not quite as uniform in either size or color as could be desired for a commercial variety. The trees, while productive, are neither large nor sufficiently hardy and vigorous to make an ideal commercial sort. Still, we must end as we began, with the statement that there is a place for Hiley because of earliness and high quality. The fruits, unfortunately, are easy prey to brown-rot.

Hiley originated with Eugene Hiley, Marshallville, Georgia, about 1886. Seeds of several varieties, including Belle and Elberta, were planted and from these sprang one tree which bore the fruit under discussion. R. A. Hiley, who seems to have first discovered its value, is of the opinion that this variety is a seedling of Belle crossed with Alexander. The new peach was first named Early Belle and the first crops were shipped under this name. Later the name was changed to Hiley. 

From 'Varieties of Peaches' by J.C.C. Price Horticulturist, August 1930

Prunus persica 'Hiley'