Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-11-06
FINE APPLES GROW
IN THIS SECTION
Three Counties in Panhandle the
Chief Producers.
BUSINESS BEGAN AFTER
WAR BETWEEN STATES

w. S. Miller Was Pioneer Fruit
Raiser in Berkeley county--Indus-
try Has Grown to Commercial
Proportions Since 1895.
Seventy miles west of Washington,
on the main line of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, lies what is known as
the Eastern Panhandle OF the state of
West Virginia.
Three counties comprise the PAN
handle, namely, Jefferson. Berkeley
and Morgan, and the first two lie in
the Shenandoah Valley, known far
and near as one of the most beanti
full and fertile sections OF the United
States.
While this portion of West Virginia
has been, and will always be. known
as rich farming country, another
industry has been developing for the
pest forty years which bids fair to
overshadow all others, namely the
production Of apples of the highest
quality and in enormous quantities.
Berkeley County was settled by the
first pioneers who crossed the Blue
Ridge, and one of the first things
they planted was fruit trees of the
different kinds.
coIonists Planted Apples.
Some o. the earliest records Of the
colony of Virginia, which can be
seen in the county clerks Office at
Martinsburg, are leases given by Lord
Fairfax to his tenantry, and one con-
dition of the leases was that tenants
should plant a certain number OF APP
pie trees and other fruits on the
land they occupied That these were
wise provisions is proved by the
large number of very old apple trees
still living and bearing fruit.
But these early and subsequent
paintings were INTENDED to produce
only enough opples TO supply the i'm
mediate locality, and no one thought
on the apple as an article OF com
merce.
Prior to the civil war a few apples
were grown and sold in lccal mar
being handled in crude manner
hauled loose in wagons and sold from
door to door
UP to that time the acreage devot
ed to any one orchard rarely exceed.
ed an acre or two, and the great ma
iority OF land owners looked with dis
favor On larger paintings.
A few men had foresight enough tic
plant apple orchards and grow the
fruit and sell in commercial way
Orchards Started in 1865.
One of the first-probably the first
orchard of any size was planted by
the late Jonathan Thatcher on what
in now known as the Thatcher Home
stead Farm, in Berkeley county, in
the year 1865. A number OF varitieS
were planted so as to have apples the
entire season. the greater part Of
this block of 500 trees are living and
bearing profitably. This fruit until
recent years was all sold in Martins
burg and other nearby markets.
The man who is known as the
pioneer fruit grower of West Virginia
the late w. S. Miller, OF Berkeley
county, was responsible more than
any one else for the deVelopement OF
crcharding in this county. Mr.. Mil
Ter grew all kinds of fruit trees anC
brought them into bearing. He made
lifelong study of the business, and
the experience thus gained and given
by him to beginners was Of incalcula
BILE value. Four of his sons are in the
same business and own the largest
screage Of apples and peach orchards
in the state.
Cold Storage Helps Industry.
The perfecting of the cold storage
system or keeping apples gave Q
create impetus TO the industry thar
anything else. This enabled the buy
ers to hold the crop and put il on the
market gradually SO as not 10 over
stock at any time and cause a slump
in prices.
This enabled tie wholesale buyers
to pay mere for fruit, and large prof
its were realized by those having
bearing orchards This in turn slim.
ulated the planting OF orchards. More
attention was paid 0 varieties OF APP
plies than before. and those which
We're OF good quality aud prolific bear
ers were planted.
Running through the length OF
Berkeley county about one mile from
Little North Mountain ard parallel To
it, is an elevated ridge of land known
from early times as Apple Pie Ridge,
so named from the fact that the APP
PIE attains its highest state of per-
lection when grown there. The soil is
fine sand shale with rich clay sub
soil. Practically all Of this land,
twenty miles long, extending into Vir-
ginia, and one mile wide, is planted
in apple orchards.