The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyrighted 1904 by The National Nurseryman Publishing Co.. Incorporated. 
“Advertising is necessary for the future success of any business firm” — Lafayette Youny, Dcs Moines , la. 
Vol. XII. ROCHESTER, N. 
OREGON NURSERIES. 
Beginning and Growth of the Business—Mission Fathers the 
First Planters —Nursery Stock from the East In 1852 
By Way of the Isthmus—Modern Conditions. 
H. M. WILLIAMSON, EDITOR OREGON AGRICULTURIST 
AND RURAL NORTHWEST. 
The nursery business on the Pacific coast had its beginnings 
in Oregon. The first cultivated fruit trees on the Pacific 
coats were planted in California by the Mission fathers. 
The Hudson Bay Company had an assortment of apples, 
pears, peaches and plum trees growing in its garden at Van¬ 
couver, now in the state of Washington more than seventy 
years ago. The missionaries, Whitman and Spaulding, a 
little later brought to the Pacific coast and planted seeds 
of apples and pears from which trees were grown, some of 
which are bearing excellent fruit to this day. All of these 
planted or propagated trees for their own use and not for 
sale. 
The first movement of home-seekers to the Pacific coast 
was to Oregon, naturally, therefore, it was Oregon which 
first attracted the attention of nurserymen. 
In 1845 Mr. Henderson Luelling of Salem, Henry County, 
Iowa, conceived the idea of transporting across the plains 
in a wagon an assortment of growing trees of standard vari¬ 
eties as a basis for the establishment of a nursery in Oregon. 
He commenced preparations in the fall of that year, but did 
not start until the spring of 1847. He had made two boxes 
which together just fitted into an ordinary wagon box; in 
carefully prepared soil in these boxes there were growing 
seven hundred trees, shrubs and vines representing standard 
varieties and including a large number of varieties of apples 
and pears and a few varieties of plums, cherries, quinces and 
flowering plants, also one Isabella grape vine and one goose¬ 
berry plant. 
SO BOLD AS TO BE AUDACIOUS. 
Mr. Luelling’s undertaking was so bold as to be audac¬ 
ious. The trip across the plains w r as a long and arduous 
one. The majority of those who started counted them¬ 
selves fortunate to reach their journey’s end with a small 
fraction of the articles with which their wagons were loaded 
when they started. Mr. Luelling crossed the Missouri river 
with his precious load on May 17th, 1847. On his way 
plains he was advised a number of iimes that his under¬ 
taking was hopeless; a clerygman urged him to unload his 
trees and take the more valuable (?) effects of other emi¬ 
grants who had more than their teams could haul. 1 he 
trip was through a dry, thirsty land and over lofty mountain 
Y.. JUNE. iqo4 No. 6 
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ranges, but about October first Mr. Luelling arrived safely 
at The Dalles, Oregon, with nearly all the trees alive. From 
that point he proceeded by the water soute to Milwaukee, 
Oregon, where he established himself. Mr. George Ilinies, 
who has an encyclopedic knowledge o thefpioneer historv of 
Oregon, says it is an unquestioned fact that no other one 
importation of pioneer days did so much to add to the income 
and wealth of the people of Oregon as Henderson Luelling’s 
traveling nursery. 
Mr. William Meek, who was acquainted with Mr. Luelling 
in Iowa and knew of his plan, followed his example in a 
small way; he started at the same time with a few growing 
trees of standard varieties and, having a lighter load than 
Mr. Luelling, reached the state first. He temporarily located 
in Linn county, but in the following spring (1848) took his 
trees to Milwaukee and entered into partnership with Mr. 
Luelling in the nursery business under the firm name of, 
Luelling & Meek. They were able to find at the homes of 
settlers a few seedling trees, mostly grown from seeds of 
fruit grown at Vancouver. 
EARLY NURSERY EFFORTS. 
They also used the wild crap apple and the thorn as stocks 
for apple and pear trees, and the wild cherry as stock for the 
stone fruits, but did not have the best of success with these 
wild stocks. They purchased some apple and pear seed 
from settlers who arrived in 1849, and in the fall of 1850 were 
able to graft 18,000 trees. In 1850, Mr. Seth Luelling (he 
afterwards changed the spelling of his name to Towelling), 
a brother of Henderson, arrived from Iowa with a consider¬ 
able supply of seed and entered the firm of Luelling <k Meek. 
The business grew rapidly; Henderson Luelling went east 
in 1851 and returned in the spring of 1852 by the way of 
the Isthmus of Panama, and returned with a fresh assort¬ 
ment of standard trees, plants, etc. In 1853, the firm had 
four branch nurseries in operation in addition to the home 
nursery art Milwaukee, and had a total stock of 100,000 
trees which were salable at one dollar and upward per tree. 
Mr. Joel Palmer also started across the plains in 1847 
with a stock of growing trees, but failed to get them through. 
Mr. Ralph Geer, who also came across the plains in 1847, 
brought with him a bushel of apple seed and half a bushel 
of pear seed, and by 1852 he and his sons liadmadequitea 
start in the nursery business. 
Mr. P. W. Gillette brought from the east, by way of the 
Isthmus of Panama, an assortment of nursery stock in 1852. 
J. W. Ladd started in the nursery business at Butteville in 
1850, or soon after. Mr. George Settlemier engaged in the 
business at Mt. Angel early in the decade of 1850-60. 
The first fruit grown from grafted trees in Oregon brought 
