You'd probably need to plant an actual Bartlett tree - or another similar variety(Magness, Warren, etc.) that'll produce the type fruit you want AND survive in NC.
Don't know where your tree came from, but it doesn't sound like you have Bartlett.

It's been discussed here numerous times, but the 'big box' stores, in particular, are infamous for applying their own 'Bartlett' pear labels(it's a variety most people recognize the name of) to any fruiting pear variety they happen to purchase from the large propagators - regardless of whether it's actually Bartlett or not.
I'd be willing to bet a Coke that you've probably got Keiffer or Orient, and not Bartlett.

Pears seem to do best if they are picked as soon as the neck yields to a gentle pinch-squeeze with the thumb and forefinger, and then refrigerated for a couple of weeks prior to being allowed to finish out at room temperature for a few more days.

They just don't ripen on the tree very well, rotting from the inside out and dropping, just as you say.

I think odds are pretty good that Lucky nailed it. I'm not knowledgeable about Bartlett down south, but up here it ripens on the tree and doesn't tend to drop untill it's yellow and soft, possibly rotting in the center by this point (but flesh is sweet). I hear it gets a ton of fireblight down there so the big box probably stuck you with something else.

I have a Bartlet pear tree. It produces lots of pears. My problem is the fruit has a soft black spots and falls down. It is fair to say not all the fruit does that. Some are good and turn yellow. I don't refrigerate any. I don't have that bis space in my refrigerator I guess I have to buy a separate freezer for that. The ones which does not get injured ripen. It is sweet and perfumed. It smells very good. Some one told me the injury to the fruit comes from too much sun. I don't I sprayed every two weeks. May be too much fruit on the tree and needs to be thinned. I throw away over 800 pears but I still have plenty which are good to eat. I am not sure it is Bartlet is Bartlet pear perfumed? But my fruit looks like the fruit the store sells as Bartlet.

This is what you do. I am in NY so adjust depending on your zone. In the later summer early fall, go to your tree and take each pear and bend it to the horizantal position while on the tree, If it comes off easily it was ready to be picked. It will not be ready to be eaten by then because it will be hard and green. Refrigerate the pear for one or two days. Then put it in a bag or a drawer with a ripe banana. Within 4 or 5 days you will have a pear ready to be eaten. It will be yellower and if you press on the flesh closest to the stem and it yields to a gentle push its ready to be eaten. This will get you your awesome pears :)

Here is a link that might be useful: My Site

Choubacca

Easy said than done. How can you climb 70 foot tree?

I like Bartletts crisp and a firm Bartlett, ready to pick, should already have its sugar. I have not found pears to reliably break free when firm-ripe this season although I've always given Choubaca's advice in the past. Anyway, when you have a large tree full of pears it would take hours to carefully test each pear.

I think small commercial growers tend to pick the whole crop when first fruit ripens on tree. Even if that fruit is over-ripe the rest should have enough sugar but still be green enough to ripen properly inside. Funny though that after many harvests I still struggle somewhat with harvest timing. I usually wait for a few fruit to drop before harvesting.

I keep most of my crop in the fridge and take it out over a period of a couple months.

Commercial growers do pick pears in one picking. I know Hman knows this - Commercial growers have a pressure device that measures the amount of "give" in a pear (It's not measured on the stem end - I believe it's measured on the body of the pear.) When the pear gives under the correct pressure for the variety, they pick them all.

I've found if I wait to pick Bartletts until they give under thumb pressure at the stem end, I run the risk of the pears rotting in the middle before they are ripe on the outside.

I have best luck picking Bartletts just as the first few pears start to change in background color. I pretty much strip the tree at that point. Then ideally, refrigerate for a week, then counter ripen. In practicality, I don't have that much refrigeration, so I just let them sit out until they ripen (or sold most this year). Nearly all of them seem to ripen fine without refrigeration.

Just as Mark mentioned above, I've read others who say pears are ready to pick when they give under pressure at the stem end, but I find they are ready to eat when they're that soft. Maybe I don't push on them as hard as other folks.

In all my over 80 years I have never seen a Bartlett pear ripen on the tree. Growing up with Bartletts and having neighbors who grew only Bartletts as their crop, my entire experience has been that any Bartlett left on the tree rots from the inside before ripening. There must be a difference in the climate to make this possible. Al

How do you pick a 70 foot tree at all?

Black spots on ripe pears are often signs of insect damage, appearing belatedly. Such a pear is likely to rot before it is ready to eat or process.

I expect that climate would make the difference because I've always read that most pears don't ripen properly on the tree and yet I've eaten most varieties I grow ripe off the tree and they aren't necessarily grainey or rotten in the middle at all. These include Bartlett, Highland, Seckel, Bosc, Aurora, Harrow Sweet, Harrow Delight, Tyson and Sheldon.

By ripe I don't mean soft-ripe, however. I mean sweet enough to eat. If a Bartlett is yellow ripe on the ground, it will likely be brown in the center, but not necessarily fermented. The firm-ripe pears picked off the tree don't require refrigeration to obtain top quality in my experience here.

Yes, Olpea, I did know that large commercial growers measure pressure or hardness of flesh, but I wasn't sure that they harvested all fruit at once- never asked. The couple of smaller growers I know don't bother with this kind of precision but I was under the impression they harvested fruit all at once.

Ititon Hi

You mentioned that black spots on ripe pear is indication of insect damage. What kind of insect and how can I kill it. I sprayed every week with Sevin. Next season I am going to spray with Triazicide. Do you know of any other suggestion.

My suggestion is that you do some sleuthing and figure out exactly what's attacking your fruit. Your spray program seems highly excessive to produce pears and should certainly have controlled any insesct problems besides the mites and scale that such a program might actually encourage by killing all beneficials.

[[[[...How do you pick a 70 foot tree ....]]]]

You won't get all of it. But a fruit picking pole and a tall ladder will get you some of the fruit that is really up there out of reach.

Fruit ladders are 3-legged. They scare me half to death; I won't go up them. I use a really solid fiberglass ladder. They are expensive, but have lots of uses besides picking fruit so I consider them a good investment.

Besides, I don't have a commercial orchard, so only need one good ladder, not enough ladders for a crew to come in and pick.

I have a Bartlett Pear that have brown holes and some fruit drop around harvest. It stands about 18' and most fruit are larger than baseballs. I thought It was some kind of insect or worm only to find it was early morning Blue Jays doing all the damage. Upon closer inspection I noticed all the damage to the fruit were inline with an adjacent branch the culprit was perched on. My problem is that even after an indoor ripening period the fruit isn't as sweet as I would expect, going to try adding some supplemental carbohydrates to the diet and see if that helps a bit.