The Baldwin apple is a bright red winter
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
, very good in quality, and easily shipped. It was for many years the most popular apple in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and for export from the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. It has also been known as 'Calville Butter', 'Felch', 'Late Baldwin', 'Pecker', 'Red Baldwin's Pippin', 'Steele's Red Winter', and 'Woodpecker'.
[
The Baldwin was one of four apples honored by the ]United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
in a 2013 set of four 33¢ stamps commemorating historic strains, joined by Northern Spy
The Northern Spy, also called 'Spy' and 'King', is a cultivar of domesticated apple that originated on the farm of Oliver Chapin in East Bloomfield, New York, in about 1840. It is popular in upstate New York.
The Northern Spy was one of four app ...
, Golden Delicious
'Golden Delicious' is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to 'Red Delicious'.
History
Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of 'Gri ...
, and Granny Smith
The Granny Smith, also known as a green apple or sour apple, is an apple cultivar which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid ...
.
History
According to local tradition, the apple was found near Wood Hill by William Butters (1711-1784), grandson of Will Butter, first white settler in what is now Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 23,349 at the 2020 United States census.
History
Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Readi ...
. William Butters raised the tree in his yard, near the present Baldwin Apple Monument ''(pictured)''.
According to S. A. Beach's ''Apples of New York'', the Baldwin originated soon after 1740 as a chance seedling on the farm of Mr. John Ball of Wilmington, Massachusetts, and for about 40 years thereafter its cultivation was confined to that immediate neighborhood. The farm later came into the possession of a Mr. Butters, who gave the name ''Woodpecker'' to the apple because the tree was frequented by woodpeckers. Deacon Samuel Thompson, a surveyor of Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...
, brought it to the attention of Col. Loammi Baldwin
Colonel Loammi Baldwin (January 10, 1744 – October 20, 1807) was a noted American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War.
Baldwin is known as the Father of American Civil Engineering. His five sons, Cyrus ...
, who propagated it and more widely introduced it in eastern Massachusetts. From Col. Baldwin's interest in the variety it came to be called the Baldwin.
A monument to the Baldwin apple now stands on today's Chestnut street in Wilmington. The monument's inscription reads: ''This monument marks the site of the first Baldwin Apple Tree found growing wild near here. It fell in the gale of 1815. The apple first known as the Butters, Woodpecker or Pecker apple was named after Col. Loammi Baldwin of Woburn. Erected in 1895 by the Rumford Historical Association.''
A harsh winter in 1934 wiped out many of the Baldwin apple orchards in New England. Its popularity as an eating apple waned, but some orchards were preserved for many years because of its desirability as a mixing apple for cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
. However, the orchards have not been replaced when they played out. Baldwin Apples, unlike many apples, have long been prized for the making of hard cider. "West County Cider" makes Baldwin Cider from trees planted in the early 1900s. It is their most popular cider.
The apple is noted for its particularly small to medium size (ca. 6–8 cm), when compared to other apples like the Macintosh. It is an exceptionally hard apple and would remain remarkably free from blemishes and other blights with few pesticides being needed. Because of its hardness it shipped well without bruising and for a time was prized for this quality. Aside from cider making it was also known as an exceptionally good pie apple and due to its inherent hardness would maintain more crispness through the baking process than other apples would.
Essex County, New Jersey, in the time of the Dutch, was also well known for its apple groves and cider, connected with the Bauldwin family. (John Sr. & Jr., signers of the Newark Agreement,~1667, per Arny in Red Lion Rampant)
Today
Baldwins were once the most popular apples in the United States but have largely fallen out of existence with the introduction of the Red Delicious. While not extinct, they are very difficult to find in stores. Some trees can still be found wild in abandoned orchards in New England, notably in Vermont. C.N. Smith Farms in East Bridgewater, MA cultivates Baldwins and the are available in their PYO (Pick your own) or in their farm stand in mid to late October.
References
External links
*
{{Apples, state=collapsed
American apples
Baldwin
Wilmington, Massachusetts