Oregon Prune Association Letterbook, 1890-1894

In his book The First Fruits of the Land: A Brief History of Early Horticulture in Oregon, Dr. J.R. Cardwell, former President of the Oregon State Horticultural Society, states that a German varietal of prune native to the Rhine region was first brought west by Mr. Henderson Luelling. The Italian prune, however was ultimately chosen as the best fit for Oregon, as it was a “good shipper” and, when dried, yielded a large fruit that was as tasty eaten “out of hand” as cooked. Additionally, Italian prunes trees are hardy, require little pruning, and bear fruit regularly. Seth Lewelling, Henderson’s borther, was one of the first farmers in Oregon to plant Italian prunes; in 1858, he planted five acres near Milwaukee.

The first recorded meetings of the Oregon Prune Association (OPA) were held in offices in the McKay Brother’s block in Portland, Oregon, on March 8, 1893. In their first meeting, a Board of Directors members was elected, comprised of F.W. Miller (President), S.C. Beach (First Vice President), P. Chappell-Browne (Second Vice President), William Irle (Secretary), J. P. Marshall (Treasurer), A. L. Frazier (Attorney), and Willis Brown (General Manager).  A three-member Examining Board, consisting of Milton Butterfield, E. T. Smith, George H. Brown, was also elected. None of the Board members drew a salary, and the majority of invested funds were used to purchase land for the cultivation of prune trees; the only money to pay expenses (e.g. publications and advertising) was ten cents on each share of stocks. In a letter to J.C. Whipple of Cheyenne, Wyoming, Willis Brown described the OPA as a “mutual organization for the purpose of investing these accumulating monthly savings in prune orchards,” and returning money to investors through the sale of the finished product. In this way, the OPA functioned similarly to fruit growers’ associations, in that it allowed individuals to pool resources and afford larger-scale ventures and land purchases than they otherwise could.

By mid-March 1893, the OPA had accepted a proposition to purchase one thousand acres from the Oregon Land Company, land that the Oregon Land Company agreed to plant with prune trees and manage. The total acreage would be paid for at $150/acre, in hundred-acre parcels, over the course of five years. Ultimately, purchase of the first parcel, near Scotts Mills, fell through due to a prior claim made on the land by a Society of Friends colony. Instead the first one hundred acre parcel would be near Battle Creek, five miles south of Salem, near Silverton. The collection documents the Association’s continued acquisition of land through 1894; much of the land purchased and planted was near Salem.