House Bill 33, which designated the cherry as the official state fruit in 1997, was sponsored by Representative Fred Hunsanker (R-Logan). Second graders at Millville Elementary School in Millville, Utah lobbied for the new state fruit after studying state symbols while celebrating the state’s Centennial in 1996. The bill was signed into law by Governor Mike Leavitt on March 5, 1997 (Utah Code).

Sandra Merrill’s second grade class for researching the subject and gathering the following information in 1997. 

The Millville Elementary School children selected fruit as their choice to support as a new state symbol and chose the apple, peach, and cherry as candidates. After compiling some basic information concerning each of these fruits and their economic impact upon Utah and polling elementary schools throughout the state, the cherry came out the strong leader.

Both sweet and sour (tart or pie) cherries are grown in Utah. Utah is the second largest tart cherry producing state in the nation and fifth in the nation in the production of sweet cherries. No other state ranks in the top five in both categories. About 2 billion cherries are harvested yearly and approximately. 4,800 acres of agricultural land is used for cherry production. Cherries are grown in Box Elder, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Washington, and Weber counties. The cherries are sold as fresh fruit, to canneries to make pies, brined as maraschino cherries, or dried.

Another interesting fact, submitted to the Millville Elementary School children, is that cherry trees were sent to Utah by the Japanese following World War II. They surround the capitol building in Salt Lake City. The cherry tree is a symbol of friendship to the Japanese.

The USDA symbol for the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) is PRCE. The USDA symbol for the sweet cherry [Prunus avium (L.) L.] is PRAV. Cherry refers to both the tree and the fleshy fruit (drupe) with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed. Michigan produces about 75% of the tart cherry crop in the United States. Utah grows about 8% of the total tart cherry crop. This places Utah second in the number of cherries grown. 98% of tart (sour) cherries are the Montmorency variety. Washington State produces the most sweet cherries, with California and Oregon rounding out the top three sweet cherry producing states.

Sweet Cherry Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Cerasus
Section: P. sect. Cerasus
Species: P. avium
Binomial Name: Prunus avium L. 

Tart Cherry Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Cerasus
Species: P. cerasus
Binomial Name: Prunus cerasus L.