Apples have long history in Humboldt County
The history and prosperity of Humboldt County has long been tied up with growing things. Redwoods were the basis of a major lumber industry as well as a spin-off ship-building industry. In the mid-20th century both declined, though the appeal of seeing standing redwoods fueled the tourism industry which accounts for much of our present prosperity.
And, of course, the local flourishing of marijuana, from the later 20th century to the present, has had a major economic impact as well.
However, from the earliest days, another crop had a considerable impact on Humboldt County development — apples.
The earliest Euro-American settlers in the 1850s soon discovered that Humboldt County’s climate and soil were ideal for growing fruit. Peaches, cherries, strawberries and even grapes were grown, but preeminent were apples. Orchards were soon planted in the valleys of the Eel and Mattole rivers then extended up side valleys and into the uplands. By 1857, there were 212 acres planted in apple orchards accounting for 7,400 apple trees. As timber was cleared out from Humboldt County land, apple orchards often moved in. In 1890, a group of Dutch immigrants traveled along the overland stage route and founded aptly named Fruitland with the aim of growing prunes and apple trees.
A major figure in early Humboldt County apple history was Albert Etter, a Swiss-German immigrant whose large family came to the area in 1872. Before he was even 20, Etter began developing hybrid apple varieties. Ettersberg became the center of this enterprise producing some 600 varieties, seven of which were eventually patented and internationally recognized.
In those early days, our apples were packed into wooden boxes, manufactured in local mills and carried by wagons to wharfs on river mouths or the bay for shipping to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Locally and elsewhere, they were consumed fresh, dried or as cider. Apple drying plants sprang up around the county employing a number of men and women.
As most farms had their own small orchards, they also had
hand-operated cider mills. In the early 20th century, commercial cider production got underway with the Winslow, Wrigling and Clendenen families in the Fortuna area.
Humboldt County was heavily promoted as the “fruit bowl of America,” and with the arrival of train connections to the Bay Area in 1915, exports increased. 1920 marked the height of local apple production with over 73,000 trees recorded.
Apple butter was another popular product locally and elsewhere, but it was apple cider that made the biggest splash. With the coming of Prohibition in the 1920s, hard apple cider was a much sought-after product. Fiftygallon oaken barrels were transported around the county (and beyond) and were siphoned by garden hoses into vats in the basements of speakeasies and more respectable establishments. The repeal of Prohibition was a real economic blow locally.
As the 20th century progressed, the importance of the apple industry declined. Land used for orchards was increasingly converted to timber, dairy and housing. Other California regions closer to urban markets increased production. And there were periodic battles with diseases and pests — most recently the dreaded apple maggot.
However, the economic, tastiness and sentimental importance
of Humboldt County apples continues, as is attested by Fortuna’s popular annual Apple Festival begun some 30 years ago and still going strong.
Pam Service, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, also holds a master’s degree in history and archaeology from the University of London. After decades as a museum director and curator in Indiana, she came to the Clarke Museum in 2000. She began work as an archivist at the Humboldt County Historical Society in 2015. In addition, she has done archaeological work on four continents and has published 32 books.