It also has culinary uses, particularly in canning, and was used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans prior to European contact.

[3] The Connecticut field pumpkin is similar to winter squash, which was grown by Native Americans in the pre-Columbian era.

[8] Field pumpkins were seen as early as the middle of the 16th century by the French explorer Jacques Cartier.

[9] Thomas Dunlap produced a catalog in 1752 that advertised Connecticut field pumpkin seeds: a quart was offered for 37.5 US cents.

The field pumpkin is typically traced back to the European colonization of the Americas.

[14][15][6] The Native Americans taught the colonists that they would get higher yields per acre if they planted potatoes or corn in the same field as the pumpkins.

[9] In 1906, the South Dakota State Horticultural Society recommended that six seeds be planted within hills of dirt approximately 8 ft (2.4 m) apart.

[16] The 1917 Cyclopedia of American Agriculture recommended that the variety be planted in sandy loam soil without other crops.

They advised farmers to use manure to fertilize and said that 3 lb (1.4 kg) of seeds were needed to plant 1 acre (0.40 ha).

It is the variety most often selected for carving jack-o'-lanterns, and is widely considered to be the most popular Halloween pumpkin.

This gives them flat rather than rounded bottoms, which some commentators believe improves their usability for carving and displaying jack-o'-lanterns.