Old Apple Tree Park

The Old Apple Tree was an apple tree in Vancouver, Washington, United States, purported to be the oldest apple tree in the Pacific Northwest. Genetic testing determined that the apples produced are unique and distantly related to the 500-year-old French Reinette variety.[1]

Old Apple Tree
Dead main trunk and surviving shoots, September 2020
Old Apple Tree is located in Washington (state)
Old Apple Tree
Old Apple Tree
Location in Washington State
SpeciesApple
LocationVancouver, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates45°37′19″N 122°40′11″W
Date seeded1826 (1826)
Date felled2020 (2020)
Websitewww.cityofvancouver.us/parksrec/page/old-apple-tree-park
Old Apple Tree Park and orchard from the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site area map

History

The tree is believed to have been planted at Fort Vancouver in 1826 by British Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Aemilius Simpson from seeds obtained at a dinner party in London prior to his departure to the Pacific Northwest for the Hudson's Bay Company.[2] It was "credited with starting the apple industry in Washington state" and survived several floods and the construction of nearby roads and railroads.[3][4] The tree was at Old Apple Tree Park on the north side of the Columbia River and south side of State Route 14.[5] The annual Old Apple Tree Festival in Vancouver celebrated the tree's birthday in October with giveaways of cuttings by the city forester.[6][7]

The apple tree, which had been in ailing health for some time, died in June 2020 at the age of 194.[8] Although the tree's trunk was "declared dead", the root system remains alive. The Old Apple Tree Research Team notes that there are saplings growing from the root system and stated that one will be cultivated to grow at the current tree's location to begin "a new chapter in its life".[1]

References
  1. Gibson, Nick (August 28, 2020). "Team ensures Vancouver's Old Apple Tree lives on". The Columbian. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. Giuliani-Hoffman, Francesca (August 24, 2020). "A 194-year-old apple tree, the matriarch of the Northwest apple industry, has died". CNN. Archived from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  3. "Clark History: Old Apple Tree". The Columbian. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. Wilson, Conrad (October 2, 2014). "Matriarch Of Washington's Apple Industry Turns 188 Years Old". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  5. Hastings, Patty (June 27, 2020). "Vancouver's Old Apple Tree dies at age 194". The Columbian. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. Hastings, Patty (June 30, 2020). "Although historic Old Apple Tree may be gone, descendants carry on heritage". The Columbian. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  7. Green, Susan (January 10, 2019). "Old Apple Tree Festival in Vancouver will celebrate the Northwest's oldest apple tree". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  8. Goe, Ken (June 27, 2020). "Vancouver's Old Apple Tree finally succumbs after nearly two centuries". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.


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