Beginning Saturday, Aug. 29, and continuing while the crop lasts, the apple orchard at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site will be available for picking apples, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day the park is open. This will be the 29th year the National Park Service has invited the public to harvest apples from the park’s trees. The proceeds of apple sales go toward maintaining the orchard and other historic entities of the park.
Hopewell’s orchard has been found to be nearly as old as the iron furnace itself. Mentioned in contemporary accounts as early as 1782, apple trees were planted, pruned and harvested yearly. The orchard was replenished with new trees throughout the 19th Century and provided valuable food for furnace community residents, both man and beast.
The present orchard includes over 30 varieties of apples, many of which are historic types that may have been found at Hopewell when the furnace was active. Early varieties such as Gravenstein and Summer Rambo were introduced from Europe by early settlers. Others such as Jonathan, Stayman, and Pennsylvania’s own Smokehouse were “discovered” in America and became favorites during the 19th Century. Some of these varieties are hard to find today since they are no longer raised by modern commercial orchards. Also, Hopewell’s apples are allowed to grow and ripen without
