Hunt for extinct apples will include blossom photos

David Benscoter is still on the hunt for apples unique to Whitman County that were thought to be extinct.

“I am planning an outing for May 11 to several of the locations that may hold extinct apples,” the Chatteroy resident said.

“Apple trees should be easier to locate at this time as they’ll be blooming,” he said. “I will map the locations I go to and in the fall, I plan to return and pick apples.”

Benscoter plans to take photos of the blooming trees and map their locations. This fall, apples will be collected from the trees and unknown varieties will be shipped to an expert for identification.

Benscoter estimates he’s put in 250 hours of research on just the Whitman County apples. Part of his research involves reviewing early fair entry records.

There were at least five apple varieties growing in Whitman County in the early 1900s that are now considered extinct: Whitman, Wallbridge, Babbitt, Lankford and Hyde’s Keeper.

“However, no written description has been found for the Hyde’s Keeper so even if one was found, it would be impossible to identify,” he said.

“The Babbitt, also known as the Western Baldwin, was submitted to the Whitman County Fair by only one person, Charles F. Hornby.”

Benscoter said he searched for Hornby’s property on an 1895 plat map and found it was two miles northwest of Colfax on Morley Road. He said a woman who lives on the property now told him that all the apple trees had been removed more than 20 years ago.

“As Hornby was the only person in Whitman County to submit a Babbitt to the fair, no further research will be made for this apple unless new information is produced,” he said. He said he will continue to search for the Whitman, Wallbridge and Lankford apples.

The Whitman apple was entered in the Whitman County Fair in the early 1900s by at least eight people, Benscoter said.

One Whitman apple was submitted by Ira Vern Moller. Benscoter learned that Moller was the brother-in-law of George Ruedy, who discovered the Whitman apple. Moller Road west of Colfax was the general location of the Moller orchards. John and Elaine Burns, who live on Moller Road, have old apple trees on their property that could have been trees Moller tended. Benscoter said they are assisting in identifying their trees.

Z.M. Beebe also submitted a Whitman apple to the fair and, according to a plat map, his property made him a neighbor of Ira Moller. It is also possible that Moller was the orchardist for Beebe’s property as Beebe retired from operating a cigar shop in Colfax in 1899, Benscoter said.

Dr. T.D. Ferguson entered Whitman apples in the fair. He lived in a home on North Mill Street in Colfax until his death in 1908. Following his death, Ferguson’s widow, Florence Ferguson, built a home next door. This home is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The original Ferguson home has one apple tree on the property and the current property owners also are cooperating with the identification, Benscoter said.

He also said T.D. Ferguson owned property northwest of Colfax and more property north of Colfax.

“Orchards were known to have been on at least some of these properties,” he said.

Frank Newton English, president of English’s Collegiate Academy in Colfax, entered Whitman apples to the Whitman County Fair. Benscoter learned that English lived in a house next to the academy on the west side of Colfax. According to plat maps for 1895 and 1910, E.N. Newton owned land along the Colfax to Pullman road. Benscoter doesn’t know if Franklin Newton’s name was misspelled or if he was related to E.N. Newton.

John Greer also entered Whitman apples in the fair. According to the 1895 plat map for Whitman County, the only Greers owning property in the county were A.G., John and William. All had homesteads close to each other north of Steptoe.

W. Hughes also entered Whitman apples in the fair. Several homesteads were in existence for W. Hughes and other Hughes families in Whitman County in 1895.

J.F. Sampson and Luey Sing also entered Whitman apples in the county fair. Benscoter has not identified the locations of these homes or orchards.

The Wallbridge apple, also known as the Edgar County Redstreak or Edgar Redstreak, was entered in the Whitman County Fair by four people: F.W. Huffman, William Henderson, Henry Fowler and U.E. Cronk. Erwin Hall, a relative of Huffman, and Jonathon Schultz, the current property owner, confirmed the existence of apple trees on the Huffman homestead near Steptoe and are cooperating in the search for extinct apples on the property.

“I have visited this site one time,” Benscoter said.

Joe Henderson, a relative of William Henderson, provided information about the Henderson homestead 14 miles northwest of Colfax. Scott Lautenschlager and his family own the old Henderson property and are cooperating in this search, Benscoter said.

Ed Repp also owns property next to the old Henderson property and also is helping with the search.

In 1904, Upton Eugene Cronk, a farmer near Steptoe, entered a Wallbridge apple in the fair. Michael Cronk, who lives on the original family farm, has provided access to the two old apple trees on the property.

According to the Whitman County 1910 plat map, Henry Fowler had a homestead that surrounded the north and east sides of Diamond.

The Lankford apple, also known as the Lankford Seedling or Langford Seedling, was entered by only one person, F.W. Huffman. Both the Lankford and the Wallbridge will be searched for on the Huffman homestead.

Someday, Benscoter wants to see the old varieties of apples growing on new trees.

“My hope is to be able to bring back the Whitman, Wallbridge or Lankford apples,” he said. “I would like to see actual trees of these apples grow again. If one of these trees was found, it is a simple matter to graft a ‘scion,’ or cutting, onto rootstock or apple trees and you would initially have a new tree of that variety.”

“There have been many apples rediscovered during the last 30 years,” Benscoter said. “But to my knowledge, none has been rediscovered west of the Mississippi River.”

He said three apple researchers from North and South Carolina and Maine are the leading “finders of lost apples.”

“For an apple to be rediscovered in Whitman County would really be a big deal,” he said.

Benscoter said he welcomes anyone who would like to go with him on his venture. Contact him at (509) 238-5150.