PORT ONEIDA, MI – Volunteers at Sleeping Bear Dunes are on a mission to save historic apple trees inside the national lakeshore.
Settlers came to this Lake Michigan shoreline in the 1850s and over time they planted apples trees on the glacier-rich farmlands. Today many of the farms and land are preserved in the Port Oneida Historic District.
The trees behind the Kelderhouse farm are weathered and gnarled from more than 100 years of being battered by Michigan weather.
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Circular cages have popped up and have been multiplying over the past decade at the farmhouse. Inside the cages are apple tree saplings, which the National Park Service hopes will save some cultural history.
READ MORE: Sleeping Bear on a mission to save rare 19th century apples from extinction
“National parks, we’re in the forever business. We want to preserve everything in this park, including the apples,” said Matt Mohrman, volunteer coordinator at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Matt Mohrman, Volunteer Coordinator at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore talks about the apple tree saplings in a fenced-in nursing at the Kelderhouse Farm in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Port Oneida, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2024. The full grown trees date back to the European settlers who settled in the area in 1854. NPS is working to preserve the apple tree variations for future generations.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
In 2014, as old trees began to crack and split, a renewed effort took hold and a grafting project began.
A Northern Spy apple tree with two collapsed limbs at the historic apple orchard preserve at the Kelderhouse Farm in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Port Oneida, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2024. The trees date back to the European settlers who settled in the area in 1854.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
Much like the settlers in 1854, volunteers grafted, or replanted twigs, to cultivate an antique orchard.
Last spring, a dozen volunteers grafted 100 trees and with an 85% success rate they’re starting to see the project take hold. Across the park there are now 86 new antique apple trees.
A caged apple tree sapling at the historic apple orchard preserve by the Kelderhouse Farm in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Port Oneida, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2024. The trees date back to the European settlers who settled in the area in 1854.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
In a rare treat for national parks, Sleeping Bear allows visitors to pick antique apples from Port Oneida to take home.
There’s an emphasis on being gentle with these ancient trees. Visitors are asked to be mindful by only taking a bushel and not over-picking these scarce fruits.
Visitors explore the historic apple orchard preserve at the Kelderhouse Farm in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Port Oneida, Mich. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2024. The trees date back to the European settlers who settled in the area in 1854.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
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Championing this cause for the past decade are Mohrman and his team: Kimberly Mann, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore historical architect; Tom Adams, an orchardist with the Leelanau Conservation District; and Jim Kelderhouse, a descendant of the Port Oneida farmers.
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The Port Oneida Historic District sits about three miles past Glen Arbor.
Across from the Kelderhouse farm is a trailhead for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, which passes by historic farmhouses and cemeteries.
