The date is one of the oldest cultured tree crops, with records showing that in Mesopotomia, it was cultivated more than 5,000 years ago. This valuable food helped sustain desert peoples and nomadiac wanderers of the Middle East and North Africa. Dates were also considered a delicacy and served by royalty for countless generations. Medjool dates are the gourmet variety and for many years savored only by the elite. 

The date was introduced to the western hemisphere by Spanish missionaries, who planted date seeds around the missions in the 18th and 19th centuries. A few of the original palms or their offshoots are still found in Southern California and Mexico. There were many varieties imported in the following years, but the most significant was the Medjool date.

The Medjool originates in Morocco. It was introduced in to the United States in 1927; the eleven original shoots were placed in quarantine for seven years in the state of Nevada. Nine plants survived, and in 1935 the were relocated to Southern California. Twenty-four offshoots of those original trees were planted in the Bard Valley, in 1944, by Stanley Dillman, date pioneer in the region.

While working as a farm laborer for Clyde Bowman, also a Bard Valley pioneer, Isabel Nunez discovered he was strongly fascinated by the date cultivation. Mr. Nunez worked hard to realize his dream, and in 1972, purchased his first date farm. Under his loving care the date farm thrived and a few years later, he acquired Imperial Date Gardens, Inc.

By increasing acreage and yield over the years, Imperial Date Gardens matured into a leader of Medjool date production. This prosperity has led to expansion of the facilities, including two retail shops and an increasingly popular mail order program.

Much of the success of the Imperial Date Gardens is due to the personal pride and the close attention to the product quality, that Isabel Nunez and his family show to their sweet Medjool dates. Although there are 90 employees or more at the peak of the season to tend the operation, Mr. Nunez can be seen working shoulder to shoulder, personally nurturing his product, ensuring only the dates that meet that meet his highest standards will be allowed to represent Imperial Date Gardens.

The Medjool is the only variety of date that is picked fresh and eaten fresh. Medjools, because they are fresh, are the most labor intensive date to grow and harvest.