Historic Orchards in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Valley contains three historic orchards dating back to the post-gold-rush era in California. NPS Archives

Each Orchard Tells a Story

Yosemite National Park has several historic orchards that shed light on the transitional period of homesteading and public land conservation that occurred in the mid-to-late 1800s in California. Composed primarily of apple trees, these orchards are substantial living remnants of European-American settlement in the area that would become the national park.

Yosemite National Park has long been the homeland of indigenous people who actively manage and cultivate black oak woodlands to collect acorns as an important and culturally significant food source. The attempted forced removal of the indigenous inhabitants by the Mariposa Battalion in 1851, followed by a US Army expedition in 1852, preceded a wave of homesteading in Yosemite Valley over the next decade. Land settlement laws (Pre-emption Act of 1841 and Homestead Act of 1862) enabled former miners with limited savings to develop farms and ranches on small acreages. As a condition of the laws, settlers needed to demonstrate land improvements. Settlers planted orchards both for the fruit and to demonstrate cultivation of the land.

An apple tree bearing fruit. NPS

Apple trees were the preferred fruit tree for the Yosemite orchards. Apple trees were a common feature of Western settlement in the 1800s due to an unprecedented horticultural interest in the fruit and its ability to grow in various climates and stay fresh in storage. During this era known as, “The Golden Age of Pomology” there were around 6,700 unique varieties of apple grown in the U.S. according to one count of publications between 1804-1904 (“Fruitful Legacy”, pg. 72). The trees for the earliest orchards in Yosemite were purchased in the western foothills from nurseries in Mariposa and Nipinnawasee. Not only were apple trees available, but they were also well suited to the environment of Yosemite Valley which provided the right mix of sun and chill hours needed to produce good fruit, as well as access to subterranean water and good drainage for tree establishment and longevity.

The original orchards remain to this day and provide a rich collection of human and horticultural history:

• The history of Curry Orchard intersects with the introduction of automobiles to the park and the expansion of concessionaire operations.
• Galen Clark and Washburn Orchards mark the earliest days of development in the Wawona area.
• Hutchings Orchard ties back to the initial promotion of Yosemite Valley as a tourist destination.
• Lamon Orchard is the largest post-goldrush orchard remaining in California.
• Meyer Orchard is a living link to a time when homesteads and ranches were anchored by orchards.
• Johnny Wilson's Place Orchardconnects back to the transitional post-contact period for the Indigenous people of the Yosemite area.

Learn About the Many Types of Apple Trees Growing in Yosemite

The orchards of Yosemite contain over twenty known heirloom varieties in addition to unique and unknown cultivars that are likely some of the last living examples of their kind. Learn more about these historic trees.

Learn About Each Orchard

Curry Orchard

An orchard turned parking lot from 1860.

Galen Clark and Washburn Orchards

Two historic orchards in the Wawona historic district.

Hutchings Orchard

A historic orchard near the base of Yosemite Falls.

Lamon Orchard

The oldest and largest orchard from 1859.

Meyer Orchard

A ranch orchard from the 1870s.

Johnny Wilson's Place Orchard

A Southern Sierra Miwok orchard from the post-contact era.

Part of a series of articles titled
Historic Orchards in Yosemite National Park.

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Historic Apple Cultivars in Yosemite National Park

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