The earliest recorded uses of strawberries

date back to ancient Rome, where they were used for medicinal purposes. The French began cultivating strawberries in the 14th century, and it is believed that the first cultivated strawberry was bred in Europe in the early 18th century by crossing varieties from Chile and Virginia. In the United States, Native Americans harvested wild strawberries long before the arrival of European settlers. The first written reference to the strawberry in North America is by William Bradford, a Pilgrim leader, who in 1620 noted wild strawberries growing along the Massachusetts coastline.