Marionberry Pie

The filling is whole marionberries with sugar and a thickener such as cornstarch, baked between two crusts. The Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission describes the berries as dark purple to black, with a tart, earthy sweetness. Wikipedia states that the berry turns a deep, dark purple when frozen and thawed; Finn, Strik and Lawrence wrote in 1997 that ripe Marion fruit retains its color well when processed.

The Marion blackberry was introduced in 1956 by George F. Waldo of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Corvallis, through the USDA Agricultural Research Service breeding program run with Oregon State University. It is a cross of the Chehalem and Olallie cultivars and is named for Marion County, where it was tested extensively. Wikipedia dates the original cross to 1945 and the selection to 1948. The Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission gives 1956 as the release year in its text and links a release document labeled 1957.

Production figures differ by source. House Concurrent Resolution 19 states that 95 percent of the world’s Marion blackberries are grown in Oregon, with 21 million pounds a year from 300 growers and 20 packers. Wikipedia states that Oregon accounts for over 90 percent of worldwide marionberry acreage. The commission states that more than half of the blackberries grown in Oregon are Marions, harvested from early July to early August. Finn, Strik and Lawrence describe a commercial harvest that begins in the first week of July and finishes in late July.

House Concurrent Resolution 19 was sponsored by Rep. Malstrom and adopted by the House on May 8, 2017, and by the Senate on July 6, 2017. Its operative clause reads: “That the Marionberry pie is the official pie of the State of Oregon.” Oregon is assigned to this style on that resolution and on its share of the crop.