Our history goes back over 250 years when, in 1763, Jean LaFramboise settled in Baie des Francois in what is now the town of Chazy, New York. Part of his original property is now included in the 1300 acres owned by Chazy Orchards.
Around 1800, John McIntosh moved from Schenectady, New York, to Ontario, Canada, where he found a clump of trees that had sprung up from the core of an apple that had been dropped. Of this original group of trees, only one tree survived, which McIntosh’s son, Allan, propagated as the McIntosh Red. This was the parent of the apple which has developed into what many believe is the best tasting apple in the world.
By the 1890s, there were between 60 and 100 McIntosh trees in Clinton, NY, and the apples they produced became a hit in New York City.
The original Chazy Orchard, in our current location, was planted in the mid-1920s. Owned at that time by a subsidiary of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Corporation, the orchard was planted to generate freight shipments across the country for the railroad.
Even now, some of the trees from this original planting remain part of our orchard. In 2000, a delicious new variety, Honeycrisp, was added to our varietal mix.
That’s a brief recap of our history and, for you apple lovers of the world, the future never looked brighter!
When our original trees were planted, growing apples was more art and skill than science. But, in more recent times, science has played an important role in making the apples we grow at Chazy Orchards as great as they are.
Over the years, we’ve learned that once picked, the faster the apples get into cold storage (32°F), the longer they stay juicy, firm, and delicious. In the 1950s, working in conjunction with Dr. R. M. Smock, of Cornell University, one of our cold storage rooms was converted into what we called a “Controlled Atmosphere” (C.A.) environment. Our tests showed that the ideal combination of temperature and Oxygen content for certain varieties (the McIntosh, for example) is 36°F with an Oxygen content of 3%. Although this environment won’t sustain human life for very long, our McIntosh apples come straight off our trees, go into this environment – and stay fresh-tasting, juicy, and delicious for many months, ready to be enjoyed by you, as wonderful as the day they were picked!
Chazy Orchards was a pioneer in developing this C.A. storage environment for apples, which has been adopted internationally by other growers. Don’t just take our word for how well it extends an apple’s freshness – taste it for yourself!
Chazy Orchards relies on about 800 colonies of bees to pollinate the apple blossoms because most of our apple varieties are “self-sterile.” The bees, in their search for nectar, carry the pollen on their bodies from flower to flower, where it is deposited on the stigma, carried down through the style and into the ovary – which, under favorable conditions, is where the seed of the apple is developed.
Chazy Orchards is located on the picturesque shores of Lake Champlain, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.
In the real estate business, the three most important things are location, location, location. It’s just as true when it comes to growing the world’s finest apples!
What makes our location so special is the microclimate that exists only here. The cool falls and mild summers; the heavy calcium content of our soil; the amount of rainfall we receive; the quality of our air and water – all of these facets of nature form the perfect combination for growing the most delicious apples in the world – right here.
Although you can order Chazy Orchards’ apples on this site, we hope you can come to visit us at our orchards. That way, you can see for yourself how special and beautiful a place this is. Come visit; spend part of the day driving along Lake Champlain’s shores and soak up some of our local colors. We’d love to have you!
Chazy Orchards Farm Market is located at our Orchards on Route 9 in Chazy, NY. Inside, you will find a wide variety of apples and other unique gifts and delicious food items for you, your family, friends, or clients!
All our baked goods are homemade in the store and we have daily specials. If you are in our area, please stop in for a visit!
