Hubbard Squash

History

Hubbard squash carries a name steeped in New England legend and botanical mystery. The traditional story credits a Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbard of Marblehead, Massachusetts, who supposedly received seeds from a sea captain and shared them with seed merchant James J.H. Gregory around 1842. Gregory introduced the variety commercially in 1856 and marketed it aggressively, turning the Hubbard into the dominant winter squash of the late 19th and early 20th century. However, the squash's true origin remains uncertain—it may have been a Native American variety, a Caribbean import, or a South American heirloom. Regardless of its origins, the Hubbard's combination of exceptional storage ability (6-7 months in proper conditions), sweet fine-grained golden flesh, and enormous size (10-40 pounds) made it the squash of choice for families needing to feed large households through New England winters. Before refrigeration, Hubbards in root cellars provided nutrition from October through April. The squash's hard, bumpy shell made it nearly indestructible in storage but famously difficult to cut—many gardeners used hacksaws or dropped the squash onto concrete to crack it open. Blue, green, golden, and warted varieties developed, each with slightly different characteristics. Commercial production waned as refrigeration reduced dependence on storage crops and smaller families preferred smaller squash, but Hubbard remains beloved by traditional New England cooks and bakers who prize its superior flavor for pies and soups. The variety's extreme hardiness also made it valuable as rootstock for grafting other squash varieties in commercial production.