The Vermont apple industry of today is an agricultural success. The Days of Honeygold and Sops of Wine Two hundred years ago, apples were growing on hill-farm orchards and lakeside slopes all over Vermont. One hundred years ago, the apple industry here was strong, yet the McIntosh was still a newcomer. The old Vermonters grew apples in a rich and amazing variety. From orchards here were harvested Honeygold, Summer Rambo, Tompkins County King, Cox Orange Pippin, Pound Sweet, Nonesuch, Wolf River, Wealthy and Winter Banana.
Apples have a natural tendency to reinvent themselves.
A seed of one variety, once planted, will grow to bear something different. In time, Vermonters learned to experiment, to graft for desired and new varieties, and to use the different apples for all sorts of purposes. Apples were brought to Vermont from neighboring states and Canada in colonial days. Settlers planted Fameuse apples around 1700 at historic Chimney Point on Lake Champlain. In Vermont's first century, nearly every farm had an orchard.