From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 30, 1913:
- "The 1913 crop of the great apple orchard of 800 acres at Piper, Leavenworth county, planted by the late ex-Gov. Morrill and owned by his estate, has been purchased by J. C. Walton, Jr., of Lawrence, and Wm. F. Helm, of Kansas City and Lawrence. This is the biggest fruit deal of the year as the orchard is one of the largest in the United States and is expected to yield from 100 to 120 car loads of apples. Last year 100 car loads were sold and the equivalent of 75 cars more was sold in bulk. There are 11,000 Jonathan trees in the lot which are expected to yield from 7,000 to 8,000 bushels. When the orchard was sold buyers were present from Chicago, Kansas City and eastern cities, but Walton and Helm were able to make the deal. The orchard was the hobby of the late ex-Gov. E. N. Morrill of Hiawatha, and contains 60,000 trees."
- "The 'Veterans of '56'' which was the original title of the organization but which has been amended to take in all residents of Kansas for fifty years, will hold their annual reunion and dinner at Ecke's hall on Saturday, September 13. This is one of the features of the year in this county. The old timers look forward to it and enjoy it more than any other gathering. The organization was formed in 1906 and included all who came to Kansas prior to 1856. Each year the limit is moved forward and this year all will be eligible who came to Kansas in 1863."
- "It will be a rather quiet and uneventful Labor Day which Lawrence will observe on next Monday. There has been no parade planned and there will be no organized observance of the day. The Unions will remember the day by suspending work, the post office will observe holiday hours and the banks will be closed all day as will the city and county offices."
Comments
Beer Guy 7 months, 3 weeks ago
So what happened? Rain fall decreased? Low prices?
blindrabbit 7 months, 3 weeks ago
Not only were there a lot of orchards in this area 100 years ago, but it was also a major fruit tree nursery area. Young trees were shipped from this area to all over the country. One of the biggest was the tree nursery in Vinland. Also Mt. Hope Nursery was a significant player, located just north of the Lawrence Holiday Inn on McDonald Road.
sjgreen 7 months, 3 weeks ago
Anyone know what happened to that orchard? It sounds like there were quite a few orchards around here 100 years ago.
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