The Mission of this Community Orchard is to educate the general public and students about an essential part of early American life, the Pioneer Apple Orchards of America. Over 250 years pioneer home orchards provided sustenance and permanent roots in America.
During this period of time our ancestor’s ability to grow and select new apple varieties showed great resilience and scientific innovation. We have here in the Crossnore Heritage Orchard, some of the heirloom apple varieties they discovered. Our purpose: to provide people of today the opportunity to see and taste these historic apples in the 21st century.
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“Our heritage is all that we know of ourselves, what we preserve of it, our only record. That record is our beacon in the darkness of time: the light that guides our steps. Conservation is the means by which we preserve it. It is a commitment not to the past, but the future.”
– Philip Ward, The Nature of Conservation: A Race Against Time
