Rare Apple Rediscovered
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The Dockham Russet apple was thought to be lost but now has been rediscovered at an old farm site. The site was one of hundreds of former small farms removed by early 1942 to make room for what became the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP) near Baraboo, Wis. All farm buildings on the 10,500-acre plant were cleared at the time.
Dan Bussey, apple explorer and historian (Vol. 43, No. 6), and two fellow apple buffs, Curt Meine and Rob Nurre, have been investigating apple trees still found on the Badger property.
“We’ve seen hundreds of apple trees growing on the land,” says Bussey. “We found this good-sized apple that tasted really good on a tree in a row of five trees. We didn’t know what it was, but when you see them in a pattern, you know they were planted by someone.”
Bussey noted that it had a brown russet covering, but underneath it was a deep red, which he said is unusual for russet apples. After paging through his Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada, he established that it was a Dockham Russet. It had been promoted before 1877 by an area apple nursery owned by A.G. Tuttle.
“The description fit the apple and the tree, and I found it within 8 miles of the nursery’s location,” says Bussey.
With further research, he learned that the apple was named for a family who moved from New Hampshire to the Baraboo area. Bussey speculates that they may have brought apple seeds with them, planting them at their new farm. One of their sons worked with Tuttle’s son and may have been the conduit for the apple from farm to nursery and regional promotion.
“The tree we found is the only Dockham Russet known to have survived,” says Bussey. “Identifying the apple trees at the Badger property is a slow process. We’ve found other farmstead trees. One is a massive crab tree with lovely red fruit.”
When a tree is identified, scion wood is grafted onto rootstock, and the three apple explorers plant it in an orchard in nearby Sauk City. The orchard is a memorial to the farm families that were forced out.
“If we can identify the farm where the tree was found, we try to contact members of the family,” says Bussey. “If they’re interested, we provide them with trees that have grafts from the original. We also offer classes on grafting and pruning to them. More than a few families have accepted trees.”
So far, Bussey has identified around 100 farmstead trees. He’s also discovered wild ones with attractive qualities. “We found a ditch apple that’s a fabulous cooking and eating apple,” he says. “We’ve also found some potential cider apples with a lot of sugar and tannins.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Bussey, 893 Highway 73, Edgerton, Wis. 53534 (ciderdan@gmail.com).
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Rare Apple Rediscovered CROPS Miscellaneous The Dockham Russet apple was thought to be lost but now has been rediscovered at an old farm site The site was one of hundreds of former small farms removed by early 1942 to make room for what became the Badger Army Ammunition Plant BAAP near Baraboo Wis All farm buildings on the 10 500-acre plant were cleared at the time Dan Bussey apple explorer and historian Vol 43 No 6 and two fellow apple buffs Curt Meine and Rob Nurre have been investigating apple trees still found on the Badger property “We’ve seen hundreds of apple trees growing on the land ” says Bussey “We found this good-sized apple that tasted really good on a tree in a row of five trees We didn’t know what it was but when you see them in a pattern you know they were planted by someone ” Bussey noted that it had a brown russet covering but underneath it was a deep red which he said is unusual for russet apples After paging through his Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada he established that it was a Dockham Russet It had been promoted before 1877 by an area apple nursery owned by A G Tuttle “The description fit the apple and the tree and I found it within 8 miles of the nursery’s location ” says Bussey With further research he learned that the apple was named for a family who moved from New Hampshire to the Baraboo area Bussey speculates that they may have brought apple seeds with them planting them at their new farm One of their sons worked with Tuttle’s son and may have been the conduit for the apple from farm to nursery and regional promotion “The tree we found is the only Dockham Russet known to have survived ” says Bussey “Identifying the apple trees at the Badger property is a slow process We’ve found other farmstead trees One is a massive crab tree with lovely red fruit ” When a tree is identified scion wood is grafted onto rootstock and the three apple explorers plant it in an orchard in nearby Sauk City The orchard is a memorial to the farm families that were forced out “If we can identify the farm where the tree was found we try to contact members of the family ” says Bussey “If they’re interested we provide them with trees that have grafts from the original We also offer classes on grafting and pruning to them More than a few families have accepted trees ” So far Bussey has identified around 100 farmstead trees He’s also discovered wild ones with attractive qualities “We found a ditch apple that’s a fabulous cooking and eating apple ” he says “We’ve also found some potential cider apples with a lot of sugar and tannins ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dan Bussey 893 Highway 73 Edgerton Wis 53534 ciderdan@gmail com
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