The Stories Behind Seattle’s Historic Orchards

Our friends at City Fruit are in the process of researching the orchard history of Seattle. They’ve set out to learn more about the orchards that still exist, the historic ones that have long since disappeared, and the new ones sprouting up. First up is Piper Orchard, located in Carkeek Park.

Here’s what they found:

Bob Baines, president of the Friends of Piper Orchard, invited a couple of people from City Fruit to participate in a planning meeting, during which they learned a bit about the history of Piper Orchard.

Starting with recent history, in 2009 they put on a Festival of Fruit to raise awareness about the orchard. Here’s a video clip if you weren’t able to attend:

The Piper family planted the orchard over a century ago shortly after they moved to Seattle in 1874. Andrew W. Piper ran the Puget Sound Candy Factory or Bakery, depending on the source, until it burned down in the Seattle fire. He also ran for mayor and served on Seattle City Council.

Wilhelmina “Minna” Piper is the one thought to have actually planted and cared for the orchard as her husband was often away on business. One source mentions that one of the sons, Paul Piper, used to take some of the fruit to the market to sell. Andrew W. Piper reportedly also used the apples in his pastries — that is, if he was a baker.

The park was bought as part of Carkeek Park in 1927.

More recent history starts in 1981 when landscape architect Daphne Lewis discovered the antique fruit trees while making a master-plan survey for restoration of the park. She and a group of volunteers worked for two years to clear away the overgrowth (blackberries, mostly) so the trees would be accessible. They found about 30 apple trees, two pears, two cherries, along with a variety of non-fruit trees such as maples and hawthornes.

Currently, the Friends of Piper Orchard has partnered with the Seattle Parks Department to help look after the trees and fruit within the park. The Friends of Piper’s Orchard also organize monthly work parties that involve everything from pruning, clearing away blackberries, etc.

City Fruit is working with Bob Baines to figure out how they can partner together to help educate tree owners, improve the health of this great resource, and possibly increase the fruit yield that can then benefit those in need in the community.

The original version of this article was published on City Fruit’s Blog.

Related posts:

1. City Fruit Stitches Together the Fabric of an Urban Orchard
2. City Fruit Gets Pruning Fever
3. Growing Food Forests in Seattle

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