The Peach Tree has been a family business for over 44 years. Ben and Merwyn Smith have always believed in providing a high quality product at a reasonable price in an environment where the customer is always right!  Enjoy the best peaches available at The Peach Tree.

In ancient China, where the peach originated 4,000 years ago, an old proverb avowed, "Eat a peach and live forever.  "Supposedly, it possessed mystic powers for eternal life and was worshipped as the "Tree of Life."

Eventually, peaches spread to Europe and then to America when the settlers of Virginia planted trees there before 1629.  Through the years, scientific development has produced hundreds of luscious varieties.  South Carolina is now the second leading producer of fresh peaches in the country, boasting of 300 varieties with ripening dates as early as May and as late as September.

Ben R. Smith's great grandfather, Z.D. Smith, wrote in his diary of tending his small orchard near here in the 1860's. B.R. Smith, Sr. began growing peaches in 1928 with five or six varieties.  Until about 1960, our peaches were commercially packed under the brand name "Pinnacle," so named because our orchard is located on some of the highest terrain in our area.  Everything was shipped up North.

When Ben R. Smith, Jr. entered the family operation in 1958 he heard of complaints from local people who could "never buy any good peaches" in a county with ten packing houses. Everything except "culls" were being shipped out.  Ben put a small roadside stand in the front yard, and in the early '60's the first section of "The Peach Tree"  was erected.  Gradually, all shipping ceased and today, we are a local market, proudly serving you with the finest peaches grown.  Our orchard of 125 acres yields 25 varieties, ripening from June until mid-September.