As packing and transportation techniques improved, the cultivar fell out of favor, replaced by others considered to have better flavor.

The Ben Davis was crossbred with the 'McIntosh' to create the Cortland, which has been a very successful pie apple.

Similar cultivars known as Gano or Black Ben Davis (a.k.a.

Black Ben) appeared in parts of the American South (notably Arkansas and Virginia) in the 1880s.

They are said to be either seedlings of, or bud-mutation of Ben Davis, but the exact relationship is unknown.