By Bill Pumford, Image from ROWHS Collection

TITLE: MOUNTAIN APPLE ORCHARDS: It is that time of the year when apple orchards are at their best. The San Bernardino Mountains have had a rich history of apple orchards (in addition to other fruits) which provided enjoyment to locals and visitors alike. During the early 1900s dozens of orchards existed in the mountains in such places as Cedar Springs, Valley of Enchantment, Skyland, Lake Arrowhead, Heap’s Peak, Crestline, Skyforest, and Strawberry Flat/Twin Peaks. Two of the most prominent orchards were at Pinecrest and Thompson’s Ranch in Dark Canyon (later changed to Dart Canyon). This week’s image shows a couple of ladies in the Pinecrest apple orchard around 1911. In addition to Pinecrest apples being available to local residents, the apples were also sold to stores down below for more than forty years. In 1906 Newberry’s store sold Pinecrest apples and in 1921 the Golden Rule Grocery Store in San Bernardino advertised Pinecrest apples for sale. In 1944 one was able to go to Pinecrest and pick a box of apples for one dollar. Groups of pickers were hired by the larger orchards during the season and went from ranch to ranch to pick. John Thompson had a 60-acre ranch that, in 1901, produced at least 5 varieties of apples and 14 tons of product. John Thompson also sold apples to the grocery stores below and provided apples to the San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce for exhibit. For several years the Guernsey Sawmill operated on the Thompson Ranch where there was a great deal of fine timber. In 1913 the Rockoff brothers, Clarence and Harry, acquired the Thompson property and continued to operate the orchard. Over the next fifty years many of the orchards were lost due to the frequent fires on the mountain as well as the large amount of residential and commercial construction.