By William “Skip” Deegans
Shown in the photograph is the original Golden Delicious Apple tree near Odessa in Clay County, West Virginia. Discovered in 1912 by Anderson H. Mullins, it was originally called Mullin’s Yellow Seedling & Annit Apple. It was a chance seedling and possibly related to the Grimes Golden Apple that was discovered on the Grimes farm near Wellsburg, West Virginia, in the 1800s.
Mullins mailed three of his Golden Delicious Apples to the Stark Brothers Nursery & Orchard Co. one April and wrote that it was a new variety. The Starks were amazed by the flavor and the condition of the apple. They sent one of the apples to a government pomologist in Washington, D. C., who praised it. In 1915, Paul Stark made a 1,000-mile railroad journey and 20-mile horseback ride to reach Mullins’ farm. He found the tree loaded with apples and 50% larger than the Grimes Golden Apple. The Stark Brothers purchased a piece of land from Mullins for $5,000 (about $150,000 in today’s dollars). It was 35-feet square with the tree in the center. They erected a cage 30 feet tall and engaged a guard.
The Stark Brothers changed the name to Golden Delicious to compliment their Red Delicious Apple. In 1920, they were awarded the Wilder Silver Medal, one of the most prized horticultural awards, by the American Pomological Society for the Golden Delicious Apple. The original tree died in the late 1950s, and in 1995 the Golden Delicious Apple was named the state fruit of West Virginia.
Photo courtesy of the West Virginia & Regional History Center.
Sources: Stark Brothers, West Virginia Public Radio, Louisiana Press-Journal.