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The integrity of the test orchard and its significance
The integrity of the test orchard and its significance
Susan Dolan is the historic orchard expert for the National Park Service wrote Fruitful Legacy: A Historic Context of Orchards in the United States. We talked with her about the orchard and its integrity and significance. See the video, an excerpt of a hour long discussion with Susan at the bottom of the page.
Integrity: The orchard has lost all but two original trees. However the orchard block itself has not been changed and could be replanted with varieties that were once here. About half of the orchard is now a subdivision. The remaining half contained
four rows of peach, plum, apricot - some Luther Burbank varieties
one row of mostly Gravenstein
five rows of mostly Etter varieties mixed with other apple varieties.
four rows of apricots - Blehheim and Hemskirke
a half row of Bing (in among the apricots) and a row of Black Tartarian
sixteen more rows of fruit
Significance: of the orchard is much greater, a "Treasure." The orchard represents the end of an era when individuals created new fruit varieties, not universities and big corporations. Here were varieties created by Albert Etter and Luther Burbank and other less known fruit breeders.
Especially significant is the relationship of George C. Roeding, Jr. and Albert Etter. The nursery tested over 60 varieties of Etter's unique apples and selected seven to sell from 1945-1970. Many apples that were tested were red-fleshed and the red-fleshed 'Pink Pearl' was chosen as one of the seven. Significantly there were over nine red-fleshed apples tested here and many crab-apple hybrids.
And also significant is the association of Bing Hong Chan, a long time nursery worker, who worked with the Etter varieties. Bruce Roeding once said that Bing Hong Chan taught him everything that his grandfather had taught him. This is especially touching because Bruce never met his grandfather.
Who Created this orchard?
Who Created this orchard?
George C. Roeding, Jr.
George C. Roeding, Jr.
George C. Roeding, Jr. took over after his father George Christian Roeding passed in 1928.
He created this smaller two-acre orchard which replaced John Rock's extensive Mother Orchard. At one point, about one-third of the trees were Etter varieties.
There were ~68 trees of Etter apples (with 50 unique varieties) among about 315 trees, about 22% of the orchard, nearly one-fifth. [needs updating with complete orchard record]
Hopefully Big Pink Wickson, Golden Manx, Red Flesh Spitz, Shinn, Pinkerton, etc survived in the Etter orchard in Ettersburg.
George and the 'Fisher'? peach.
What is Left of the Roeding test orchard?
What is Left of the Roeding test orchard?
1937 aerial of the California Nursery with the current day park boundaries in green.
1939 Aerial photo annotated with landmarks, looking west-northwest. The Roeding Orchard was probably cut by one-third to one-half, seeing that the Google Earth overlay with the 1918 map shows that Section 9C is cut in half. Next photo.
1918 Map overlaid on google earth: Yellow outlines the current park boundary approximately. Red outlines for former nursery property. From the 1918 map, you can see that section 9C has been cut into 1/2 of its original size of 2.5 acres to a little over 1 acre.
Detail from the 1937 aerial at top of the page, approximately 2.5 acres. Seen from the North, looking south. Trees are numbered from rows 1 to 24 north to south and trees 1 to 23 west to east. Tree 1 in Row 1 would be the bottom right tree.
The Roeding Test Orchard 1937
The Roeding Test Orchard 1937
George C. Roeding, Jr. took over after his father passed in 1928.
He created this smaller two-acre orchard of trees. Trees were planted around 1931 and then added and replaced until the 1970s. The orchard acreage is smaller now, it appears, from aerial photos. to be about half the size. A portion of the orchard is now houses in the Rancho Arroyo neighborhood. The trees were planted about 15 feet apart. All sorts of varieties were planted, except for about 2-4 rows of apricots. Rumor has it that the apricots were sold in the retail center.
June 2019 Google Earth photo. Homes that are on Hillview line the left side of the orchard. Homes that are on Bodily and Riviera now line the top portion of the orchard. The Roeding residence is at the bottom of the photo.
Same angle of view, today, only three or four rows are planted. Two old apricots and one apple are still present. Another very large apple died after 2013.
Apricots, cherries and nectarines were replanted in 1990 and volunteers probably followed the orchard map using one of the orchard books.
A time machine of a sort
A time machine of a sort
Using the address, 36501 Niles Blvd, Fremont CA, you can watch the shrinking of the orchard using historicaerials. Starting in 1946, 10 years after its planting in 1936 (according to an orchard book), you can see the changes until 1970. From 1946 to 1948, the orchard is intact. In 1958, the middle section disappears and rows 1-15 can be seen. Perhaps some rows up to row 24 are left. In 1968, the higher rows are subsumed by the new Rancho Arroyo neighborhood. Between 1968 and 1979, the nursery went out of business and the trees may not have been watered. Increasingly trees disappear. The apricot orchard was planted in 2000?
How we know what grown here 1931-1970
How we know what grown here 1931-1970
The Orchard books
The Orchard books
There are three or four orchard books that remain to tell us what was planted here from the 1930s on - apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, chestnuts, and one fig.
Of the many apple varieties were the experimental apples from Albert Etter, who also hybridized gooseberries, chestnuts, dahlias, and strawberries. About one-third of the trees were from Albert Etter.
Several orchard books like this are in the archives and show which fruit and nut varieties were planted in the orchard. This page shows some of the varieties by A.F. Etter (Albert Etter) that were tested.
Bing Hong Chan (middle) worked from the 1930s to the 1960s at the nursery (confirm dates). He did orchard work as well as other work. Bruce's orchard book mentions that Bing Hong did some summer budding of citrus and there are other notations. Also seen here is Frank Avilla and Fong Wong.
This book had Bruce Roeding's name written in the front cover. Etter's apples are marked A.F. Etter and A.E. and A.F.E. Etter's chestnuts were also planted in the orchard. The orchard map might have been created from this book. (TBD)
The Fruit and Nut Varieties Grown here
The Fruit and Nut Varieties Grown here
And more...
And featuring Etter's Apples!
Etter's Apples - the long view
Etter's Apples - the long view
1897-1931
1897-1931
Hybridizing new apple varieties takes a very long time (peaches are quicker). Almost 50 year elapsed from the beginning around 1897 to the introduction by the California Nursery in 1944.
Around 1897 at the direction of E.J. Wickson, Charles Howard Shinn provided Albert Etter with 600 varieties of apples. Some came from the UC Experiment Stations where Shinn was inspector (Foothill and Paso Robles). Did some come from the California Nursery which was well-known for its thousands of fruit varieties in Rock's test orchard? [After pandemic a search in the old ledgers is in order for this time frame.]
Shinn, was raised in Niles on his parent's nursery and fruit ranch. Shinn was a historian, horticulturalist, forest ranger, and wrote all about these fields. More on this later.
Read more about the role Shinn played from the Fruit Nut Tour given for the CRFG Festival of Fruits in Santa Clara Valley.
Almost 50 years later and 15,000 new apple varieties later, in 1944 seven of Etter's varieties were introduced to the home orchard market by the California Nursery Company. The varieties were patented by Etter and assigned to George Roeding, Jr.
What's so special about the Etter varieties? Their exceptional taste and the introduction of a red-fleshed variety.
And that our local history is intertwined Etter's apples by way of Charles Howard Shinn and the Roeding family.
In 1922 Albert said "Nearly twenty years ago I got the notion into my head that all the world had in apples was far from what the material at hand justified one to expect. I felt I couldn't help but get results, and the truth of it is I have succeeded far beyond my expectations, as well as far easier. In talking the matter over years ago with Luther Burbank, he told me I couldn't help but get some wonderful things in apples under such favorable conditions as we have here at Ettersburg. As regards continued progress, I am sure seedlings grown of these seedlings will continue to give more and more highly developed forms. I could go on and describe a dozen of the best of these new apples in a way that would make the reader's mouth water, but the Editor told me to cut this article short —or rather, not make it too long."
1931-1944
1931-1944
This era was time to test and verify the best of Mr. Etter's apples to be patented and sold through the California Nursery Company.
The orchard books tell us what varieties were tested and some have descriptions. There were about 50 varieties tested. Several were red-fleshed. Only one red-flesh, Pink Pearl, was introduced.
The three orchard books from the 1930's-1940's in the Roeding collection name the Etter varieties that were tried out for eventual sale by the California Nursery. [More apples discovered in the books!]
Records such as this are from the apples observed in Ettersberg in 1941.
Several trips must have been made to Ettersburg. These notes were taken in 1941.
Photographs were taken later for the catalog and patent photos probably around 1944. Those large format color photos can be seen in the Winter 2021 Eden Journal.
1944-1970
1944-1970
Who was Albert Etter? You can find a few links to articles here which are updated as they are encountered. In the Winter 2021 Eden Journal Eden Journal, is an article "Albert Etter: Humboldt County's Horticultural Genius" written by Tom Hart (Humboldt Cider Co.) who works in Albert Etter's orchard in Ettersburg. The next article is about the California Nursery Company Archives.
Announced in 1943 in various papers including the "Review of Industry and Commerce" in December 7, 1943.
From CNCo scrapbook at the Fremont Main Library.
Etter's Apples were announced in 1943
Etter's Apples were announced in 1943
The 1943 catalog announced that Etter's apples were coming.
Who was Albert Etter? You can find a few links to articles here which are updated as they are encountered. In the Winter 2021 Eden Journal Eden Journal, is an article "Albert Etter: Humboldt County's Horticultural Genius" written by Tom Hart (Humboldt Cider Co.) who works in Albert Etter's orchard in Ettersburg. The next article is about the California Nursery Company Archives.
Etter's Apples were available in 1944
Etter's Apples were available in 1944
Albert Etter patented six (and later seven) of apples. Etter assigned the rights to Roeding.
George C. Roeding made the trip to Ettersburg with a photographer (and?) prior to the 1944 catalog introduction of the new apples. The Roeding archives have a short movie at Ettersburg with a frisky calf and Etter up on a platform in an apple tree with multiple grafts. There are many color photos of the orchard, pies made with (possibly Etter) apples, and apples photos, back in 1930-1940s time frame.
The 1944 catalog featured Etter on the cover. Some of these varieties were sold all the way to the last catalog in 1970. Neighbors might be growing Etter trees and not know it. They may be still be growing in Mexico as well, since they were in the Spanish language catalogs.
1945 - Recipes with Etter's apples!
1945 - Recipes with Etter's apples!
The 1945 catalog featured recipes by local winemaker and celebrity chef, Robert Stoney Mayock who was chef for many nursery barbecue events.
Mayock was the owner of the Los Amigos winery in Irvington, a gourmet chef, and a food and wine columnist. In his forward Mayock said: "Mr. Roeding ... explained that apples developed under the favorable conditions at Ettersburg might not remain true to type elsewhere, and that only now, after rigorous trial under average orchard conditions, was he willing to introduce and recommend them."
Today, for common varieties, you can just look up your USDA zone and have a pretty good idea of whether a fruit will be successful in your area. It was less easy back then to compare growing zones.
[Stoney Mayock.jpg]
1944-1970
1944-1970
Etter's Apples were sold from 1944 to 1970
Etter's Apples were sold from 1944 to 1970
If you look through the old catalogs, you will see that some varieties must have been more popular than others. By the end not all varieties were sold.
1970 After the nursery went out of business
1970 After the nursery went out of business
1980s Ram Fishman visited
1980s Ram Fishman visited
In the archives are letters (1982 and 1987) from Ram Fishman, Greenmantle Nursery, about a visit to the nursery (or phone call) with Bruce Roeding and his father, George C. Roeding, Jr. A notation in the books is that Fishman received a shipment in 1984. Ram eventually became one of the sellers of Etter varieties. He recently passed in October of 2021 and hopefully his family will continue the business.
One of the letters summarized Fishman's research, some of which may now be on the Greenmantle Nursery Website. He also wrote an article in the American Pomological Association.
2002 Replanting the Orchard
2002 Replanting the Orchard
This is a portion of the map that was used to plant the cherries and the apricots in 2000. Perhaps there are 'Hemskirke' apricots in addition to 'Blenheim' apricots.
[img_6496 10/22/2020]
In 2002, a group of volunteers used this chart, probably created from one of the orchard books, and planted apricots, peaches, and cherries in 4 rows.
[I'm not sure that the numbering being used in the replanting matches the original planting.]
A note in one of the original orchard books says that the rows are numbered from north to south and the trees from west to east. Row 1 Tree 1 is the first row and tree that you would have encountered walking from the front of the nursery toward the Western Pacific tracks (today's BART line).
And remember, that half of the orchard is gone and planted with houses instead of trees.
Using this map for counting the number of Etter trees, there were about 67 out of 315 trees that were Etter varieties. Four trees were chestnut hybrids by Etter. There were more Etter varieties, including one named after Charles H. Shinn, in the portion of the orchard that are now homes. So the count of trees will be higher! And more red-fleshed. Those that are recognizable as red-fleshed are bolded, at least nine here, so possibly 15 in the final county!
The Etter apple names were #36, Red Flesh Hoover, California, #5 Red Ruby Flesh, Red Juicy Golden Crab, Red Ruby Flesh, Pink Pearl ,#37, Dawn, Manette, #2 Earliest Asiatic, St Francis, Red Blossom, #2 Earliest Asiatic, Delilah, Manxilon, #4 Red Flesh Spitz, Fall Pink Flesh Pearmain, Red Flesh Spitz #4, #33, Epochal, Marshall, #1 Red Flesh Asiatic, #1 Red Flesh Asiatic, Eureka, Felicity, Eureka, Newton Snow, #15 Best, Rivallarist, #1 N All Gold, #15 Best Revallarist, Dr Player, Alberkay, Golden Manx, Northfield Beauty, #11 Golden Dawn, Etters Gold, Ornamental, #11 Golden Dawn, #35, All Gold, Humbolt , Psyche, Golden Hyde King, Diana, Amber, Hyde King , Red Flesh Banana, #8 Roe Asiatic, #34, Arcata, Red Manx, #1 Pear Shaped Little Crab, Etters Gold, #1 Pear Shaped Little Crab, #38, Jonwin, Reinette, #12 Big Pink Wickson, Hybrid, Red? Asiatic
2020 Cidermakers use Etter varieties
2020 Cidermakers use Etter varieties
I don't know if we can say that Etter apples are the "Darling of Cider Making", but there are a lot of people who seem to love them for cider.
I don't know if we can say that Etter apples are the "Darling of Cider Making", but there are a lot of people who seem to love them for cider.
If you search Instagram for #wicksoncrab #albertetter #etterapples, you will find many cider makers across the US who are using Etter varieties. When did Etter become popular? Or was it always popular? When did cider-making become popular?
The Wickson crab is absolutely delicious for one thing. But how did the word get out? The California Nursery went out of business in 1970. That's fifty years! Who was selling the the varieties after that?
Some of the places that grow Etter varieties or make cider from Etter varieties:
Some of the places that grow Etter varieties or make cider from Etter varieties:
Hudson Valley Apple Project
Vulture Hill, Sonoma County
Ragged Hill Cider Project - West Brookfield, MA
Texas Keeper Cider - Manchaca, TX
Albemarle CiderWorks - Charlottsville, VA
Lassen Traditional Cider - Chico, CA
Ploughman Cider - Adams County, PA
Growers of red-fleshed apples, Etter and beyond
Growers of red-fleshed apples, Etter and beyond
Mentioned during NAFEX 2021
Harry Burton, AppleLucious has 40 red-fleshed apples.
The Pomona journal has articles about Etter's apples - need to be a member to see them.
CiderCon 2020
CiderCon 2020
For Cidercon 2020 in Oakland, there were many field trips. There was a gathering of apple experts at Filoli where Tom Hart talked about Albert Etter.
Informal CiderCon field trip to the California Nursery archives
Informal CiderCon field trip to the California Nursery archives
The Roeding family on left. Dan Bussey on right. His 7 volume book on apples is in front.
The day before the Filoli event, Janet and Barry hosted Dan Bussey (Illustrated History of the US and Canada) and Brandon Buza (Filoli docent) on the "Albert Etter trail". Dan and Brandon visited both Shinn Park and the California Nursery Historical Park.
Shinn Park - In the 1890s, Charles Howard Shinn provided Etter with apple varieties for his experimentation. Still to be tracked down are the varieties that he provided at E.J. Wickson's direction to Etter. Some were from UC Experiment Stations. It is reasonable to think that Shinn would have obtained some varieties from from his father or neighboring nursery, the California Nursery.
California Nursery Historical Park - The Roeding connection with Etter comes later in the 1930s and 1940s. John Rock's specimen orchards were well known to Wickson and Shinn. Roeding's book that documents Rock's mother orchard can be found in our catalog list. The family says that their grandfather bought the California Nursery for its specimen trees.
After lunch at Broncho Billy's pizza, Dan and Brandon met with Roeding family: Bruce, George III (Sandy), and Gretchen for a lively conversation.
How to Impress a midwestern apple expert. These palms were planted by John Rock to line the boundary of the nursery which was established in 1884.
Dan's visit was almost 150 years after the visit by esteemed horticulturalists from the West Coast. We celebrated the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 2019. With the opening of the railroad, a trip to/from the East Coast took days instead of months.
It is difficult today to look at our suburban landscape and to understand that our very suburban area was so important to the horticultural development of California.
When the horticulturalists came 150 years ago, California was a grand horticultural experiment.
Samples at Cidercon 2020. Notice that Tilted Shed has a Wickson Crab cider.
Tom Hart of Humboldt Cider Co. gave a talk on Etter at CiderCon in 2020 at Filoli
Filoli gives tours of its Gentleman's orchard. Very much worthwhile in grape and apple season!
2020 'Pink Pearl' Apples
2020 'Pink Pearl' Apples
Pink Pearl...
Pink Pearl...
Pink-fleshed and delicious
Pink-fleshed and delicious
Where can you still find Etter apples?
Where can you still find Etter apples?
There are none in the park. (Unless that one last struggling apple tree is an Etter variety). However, Etter apples were sold from 1944 to 1970. Someone in the neighborhoods must have one. And perhaps someone has one of the experimental Etter apples that were never sold. They were sold in the Spanish language catalog as well as the English version. So there may be Etter apples in Mexico!
Today some of these apple varieties are still available from
Scion exchanges with the local CRFG organizations (the Golden Gate chapter and the Santa Clara Valley chapter). Varieties like Wickson, Waltana, Grenadine, Katherine, Etter's Gold,
Some varieties were available from Greenmantle Nursery. The owner, Ram Fishman, either called or visited Bruce Roeding in the 1980s. However, he passed recently (2021 or 2022). His widow said that she is arranging for others to take over the apples, but that they are not currently available. She also told me that someone is selling the "Pink Permain" under the name of "Pink Sparkle."
Applelucious has many Etter varieties.
Dave Wilson currently sells the Pink Pearl. Regan Nursery sold it last year without even knowing that this variety had been tested not too far away. However, they discontinued it for a reason that remains to be discovered.
Trees of Antiquity also sells Etter varieties.
January 23 2025
visit by Tom Hart, Humboldt Cider Co. and Albert Etter expert
January 23 2025
visit by Tom Hart, Humboldt Cider Co. and Albert Etter expert
Tom Hart of Humboldt Cider has been working in the Etter orchard in Ettersburg. Some of their cider is made from Etter's varieties. There are many un-named Etter varieties in the orchard.
See Tom's presentation on Albert Etter. If you are a member of the California Garden & Landscape History Society, you have access to the recording of the cider tasting and history of Albert Etter.
Tom and Janet wrote back-to-back articles in the Winter 2021 Eden Journal. During the pandemic, Janet mined the California Nursery and Museum of Local History files for suitable illustrations. It was a very pretty and delicious looking issue.
Visiting the California Nursery Historical Park
Visiting the California Nursery Historical Park
Tom came to visit the California Nursery Historical Park and Shinn Park in January 2025. He visited the museum/archives, the office gardens, and the old Roeding Test Orchard, where about 60 varieties of Albert Etter's apples planted and were tested, along with a chestnut or two, in the 1930s to 1960s.
Joyce Blueford, manager of the CNCo archives and museum, Tom Hart, Gretchen Mendehall, Bruce Roeding, and Sandy Roeding (Gretchen's father).
Bruce, Tom, Janet, and Sandy.
Janet, Wendy, Tom, and Roy. We are some of the gardeners who take care of the historic gardens around the old office.
Visiting Shinn Historical Park & Arboretum
Visiting Shinn Historical Park & Arboretum
We hurried to Shinn Park, as we were losing light. We took a run through the 1876 Big House house to see the nursery office and the Redwood room where Charles Howard Shinn is featured. Charles according to some accounts obtained many of the apples that Albert Etter used for his apple hybridization in the 1890s. During that time he was associated with the University of California as a UC Experiment station inspector.
The Shinns started their nursery while living in the small 1854 cottage (seen here), which at that time, was down by Alameda Creek. The Big House was built in 1876, financed by Lucy's brother "Uncle Dr." Joseph W. Clark, who was a partner in the nursery business.
The Shinn's Nurseries was in business from about 1873 to 1887. After it went out of the nursery business, they focussed on fruit production. Some of the nursery stock was purchased by the California Nursery Company.
Where to find Humboldt Cider Company cider:
Where to find Humboldt Cider Company cider:
It is distributed throughout the Bay Area. In the East Bay, you may find it at Berkeley Bowl, Ledgers Liquors, Star Grocers. Healthy Spirits, Willibee's, Harvest Market, Big John's, Oliver's, a few Whole Foods.
Useful References:
Useful References:
National Park Service's "Fruitful Legacy"
Niedzwetzky's apple at Filoli. Dark dark red inside and inedible. But those genes!
References
References
Susan Dolan is the National Park Service expert on historic orchards for the national parks, state parks, and private historic orchards. She wrote Fruitful Legacies: A Historic Context of Orchards in the United States, with Technical Information for Registering Orchards in the National Register of Historic Places. She has worked with many orchards across the US and most importantly knows Albert Etter's Orchard in Humboldt County.
Hear Ms. Dolan talk about the integrity and significance of the Roeding test orchard Nov 11, 2021.
Hear what an historic orchard specialist says about the remainder of the park's historic test orchard in November 12, 2021
Hear what an historic orchard specialist says about the remainder of the park's historic test orchard in November 12, 2021
Susan Dolan is the National Park Service expert on historic orchards for the national parks, state parks, and private historic orchards. She wrote Fruitful Legacies: A Historic Context of Orchards in the United States, with Technical Information for Registering Orchards in the National Register of Historic Places. She has worked with many orchards and most importantly knows Albert Etter's Orchard in Humboldt County.
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