The Lewelling Nurseries: More Than Just Apples to Oregon

Abstract

Henderson Lewelling (1809-1879), is known as the “Father of Pacific Horticulture.” He was an independent thinker, pomologist extraordinaire, skilled nurseryman, self-reliant pioneer, and family devotee. However, he “was born a ramblin’ man.” Despite this aspect of his life, or perhaps because of it, each of us across this great land who appreciate fruit and nut trees have benefitted from his wanderlust. In 1837, Henderson and his brother, John purchased land and established the first commercial tree fruit nursery in Iowa. Ten years later, Henderson and his family started on an Oregon Trail covered wagon expedition from Iowa, with about 700 trees of 35 varieties of apples, pears, cherries, peaches, plums, and small fruits. Despite all odds, 350 plants survived to reach the Willamette Valley at the end of the Oregon Trail. Lewelling’s fruit trees were the first grafted nursery stock planted on the Pacific Coast and became the foundation plant material for a burgeoning public need. In 1850, Henderson’s brother, Seth, joined him in Oregon, while his sibling, John journeyed to San Lorenzo, California. The next year, Seth established branch nurseries in Salem and Albany, Oregon, which continued to sell nursery stock throughout Oregon and Washington. In the Milwaukee orchard, the novel ‘Bing’ sweet cherry was selected from a nursery row, and has become one of the most widely grown cultivars in the U.S. In 1853, Henderson and his family moved to California and extended his nursery trade to sell more than 100,000 fruit trees throughout California. Over time, the early introduction of the fruit and nut germplasm into the Pacific Northwest by the Lewelling family nurseries has had a profound and lasting impact on modern fruit culture.