The Mission of this Community Orchard is to educate the general public and students about an essential part of early American History, the Pioneer Apple Orchards of America. Over 250 years our ancestors planted Home Orchards, providing permanent roots in America.
Our ancestor’s ability to discover, select and grow new apple varieties showed great resilience and scientific innovation. We have here in the Crossnore Heritage Orchard, some of the heirloom apple varieties they handed down to us. Our purpose is to provide the people of today the opportunity to taste and learn about these historic apples varieties.
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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
