PORT ONEIDA, MI – Sleeping Bear Dunes volunteers are on a mission to save historic apple trees within the National Lakeshore.
Settlers arrived here on the shores of Lake Michigan in the 1850s, and over time they planted apple trees on the glaciated farmland. Today, much of the farm and land is preserved in the Port Oneida Historic District.
The trees behind Kelder House Farm are weathered and gnarled from more than 100 years of Michigan weather.
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Circular cages have appeared on this farm and have continued to proliferate over the past decade. Inside the cage is an apple tree sapling, which the National Park Service hopes will save cultural history.
read more: Sleeping Bear on a mission to save a rare 19th century apple from extinction
“We’re in the eternal business when it comes to national parks, and we want to preserve everything that’s in this park, including the apples,” said Matt Morman, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore volunteer coordinator. says Mr.
Matt Morman, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore volunteer coordinator, holds a fenced-in apple at Kelder House Farm at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Port Oneida, Michigan. Talk about the seedlings. Full TextThe origins of cultivated trees date back to European settlers who settled in the area in 1854. NPS works to preserve apple tree variation for future generations.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
In 2014, as the old tree began to crack, a new approach took hold and a grafting project began.
Two fallen branches of a Northern Spy apple tree stand in the historic apple orchard preserve at Kelder House Farm on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Port Oneida, Michigan, on Tuesday, October 10, 2024. tree. The origins of this tree date back to European settlers. in this area in 1854.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
Just like the settlers in 1854, volunteers nurtured the old orchard by grafting and replanting twigs.
Last spring, more than a dozen volunteers grafted 100 trees, and with an 85% success rate, the project is starting to take hold. Across the park there are now 86 new antique apple trees.
A caged apple tree sapling sits in the historic apple orchard preserve near Kelder House Farm on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Port Oneida, Michigan, on Tuesday, October 10, 2024. . The tree’s origins date back to the time of European settlers who settled in the area. 1854.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
A rarity in national parks, Sleeping Bear lets you pick antique apples to take home in Port Oneida.
Kouki values kindness. Visitors are reminded not to over-pick these rare fruits and to consume only one bushel.
Tourists explore the historic apple orchard preserve at Kelder House Farm on the shores of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Tuesday, October 10, 2024 in Port Oneida, Michigan. The tree’s origins date back to the time of European settlers who settled in the area in 1854.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
Related: Hike through century-old farms and glacier-formed cliffs in the Sleeping Bear Historic District
Moman and his team have been championing this cause for the past decade. Kimberly Mann, Historic Architect of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; Tom Adams, orchard grower at Leelanau Preserve. and Jim Kelderhaus, a descendant of Port Oneida farmers.
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The Port Oneida Historic District is located approximately 3 miles from Glen Arbor.
Across from Kelder House Farm is the trailhead for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, which passes historic farmhouses and cemeteries.
