Connections - Fall, 2007 - Alumni and Friends of WSU's College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences and WSU Extension

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History and Development of Apple Production in Washington

Fred L. Overley
Horticulturist Emeritus
Tree Fruit Experiment Station

Fruit growing in Washington is a big business. The annual value of all fruits grown exceeds $100,000,000. Apples exceed in value all other fruits grown. Today most of the apples are grown in the irrigated valley of Central and North Central Washington. Wenatchee in the center of North Central Washington is recognized as the “Apple Capitol of the World” while Yakima is proud to be considered the “Fruit Bowl of the Nation.”

The oldest apple tree in the state was from seed brought from England and planted by the Hudson Bay Company in the year of 1826 and is still growing and producing fruit at Vancouver, Washington.

According to Judge E.V. Kuykendall of Pomeroy, Washington, “The second planting of apple trees in this state was near the mouth of the Alpowa Creek in Asotin County, Washington, by Red Wolf, a Nez Perce Indian sub-chief, who was given the apple seeds by missionary Henry Harmon Spalding, who then had a mission at the mouth of Lapwai Creek, about 13 miles east of Lewiston, Idaho. This mission was established in 1825 and from the best information I can obtain the seeds were planted in 1837. There has been some difference of opinion as to whether these trees were raised from cuttings given my Spalding or seeds, and whether planted in 1837 or 1838. Some years ago I wrote a history of Asotin County and after thorough research I reached the conclusion that these trees were raised from seeds planted in 1837.

The third planting of the apple trees (and I believe the first in the Yakima section), was at Fort Simcoe, then seat of the Yakima Indian reservation, established by the great council at Walla Walla in 1855. Fort Simcoe was first established as a military fort in 1856, having a parade ground 200 feet square with buildings on all four sides. It was abandoned as a military establishment in 1859, and soon thereafter turned over to the Department of Indian Affairs. I do not know the exact date the apple orchard was planted in this parade ground, but it must have been between 1860 and 1864.

My father was appointed as government physician at fort Simcoe, and we moved there when I was only two years old, in 1872. As far back as I can remember one large tree about the middle of the west side near a pump, with large, fine cooking apples, and I was often sent by my mother to gather “pump” apples as we called them from the tree. My guess would be that this orchard was ten or more years old at the time I was old enough to remember. In my opinion, it was planted not later than 1864. In 1948 when I was there last, there were only two or three trees left as I recall. We left there in 1882, when the whole Yakima Valley was a sage brush desert. There may have been a few young apple trees in yards at Yakima City, where Union Gap now stands.”

Many of the early orchards were planted in the Inland Empire around Spokane. There was around 5000 acres of apples in Eastern Washington at one time with the peak of production around 1925 with 2800 to 3000 cars shipped out of that area. Due to odd varieties that were planted in the first orchards with as many a 45 to 50 different named varieties being grown; to unfavorable growing conditions, as winter temperatures and other factors, the production has gradually dropped to around 25 cars a year. There are some large orchards of 100 acres or more growing in the area. Some of the largest national apple shows were held in Spokane.

Apple growing in the Okanogan-Wenatchee area of North Central Washington dates from the first planting of Okanogan Smith near Oroville. Smith traveled 300 miles on horseback, secured some apple trees, tied them to his saddle and planted them in 1848. One of these old trees produced 112 loose boxes of fruit in 1948 just 100 years after planting. However, one record states trees were not planted till 1854 or 6 years later. It was a few years later that Philip Miller planted the first commercial orchard in the Wenatchee Valley in 1880. Now 72 years later in the memory of many old timers from that first commercial orchard to the present day, something around 40,000 acres of land have been put under irrigation from Trinidad to Leavenworth and north to the Canadian border along the Columbia, Wenatchee, Entiat and the Methow Rivers and their tributaries. Different kinds of deciduous fruits are grown in this area, but they are mostly apples. The list of varieties has been reduced from 50odd varieties planted in the first orchards to 5 or 6. The present commercial varieties are largely Delicious, Winesap, Jonathan, Rome Beauty and their color strains and Golden Delicious.

The number of apple trees has increased in North Central Washington from the first commercial planting in 1880 to 1,597,518 trees in 1950. The shipping records show an increase in car load shipments from 2 cars in 1902 to 24, 386 in 1930. Due to economic conditions and difficulty in insect control and spray residue problems, the production dropped during the next few years because of a general tree removal program but increased again until in 1950 when 22,625 cars were shipped.

Many early apple plantings were put out in the Yakima Valley but greater diversification of fruit growing was practical than in North Central Washington. The total production of apples is somewhat less.

The total production of apples for the state of Washington is practically 1/4 of the total production of the United States.

Also by Overly: "From Whence Came: The Varieties of Fruit We Are Now Growing"

Unidentified apple picker in the Wenatchee area, ca. 1950s