California and Florida each produce fresh-market tomatoes on 30,000-40,000 acres--almost two-thirds of total U.S. fresh-tomato acreage (a share that has not changed much since the 1960s). Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee round out the top six in terms of area planted.
Ichabod comes from the biblical name of the grandson of Eli the High Priest and son of Phinehas. Irving might have borrowed the name from that of Ichabod Crane, a colonel in the US Army during the War of 1812 whom he had met in 1814 in Sackets Harbor, New York.
Its fabled long life span also makes it a symbol of longevity. The crane is a popular symbol in Asian culture, and the practice of folding paper cranes for good fortune, healing, happiness, and success was popularized by Sadako Sasaki, a young victim of the radiation from the Hiroshima disaster.