Anna Epley Cornbean

This snap pole bean variety has been preserved and passed down through Robert “Nort” Epley’s family of Shell Rock, Iowa, for at least four generations. According to Nort, his maternal great-grandparents brought the seeds from Lower Saxony, Germany, during the latter half of the 19th century when they immigrated to America and settled in Butler County, Iowa. It is unclear which of them brought the bean seeds to the United States. The variety is named after Nort’s mother, Anna, and is called “cornbean” because it was traditionally grown alongside corn in the fields. Nort donated this bean variety to SSE in 2023.