Lost Apple Project
A group that, in partnership with the Whitman County Historical Society, seeks to identify and preserve heritage apple trees and orchards in the Inland Empire. The goal of the LAP is to identify and map apple trees and orchards planted prior to 1920 in eastern Washington State. LAP volunteers seek to work with land owners to encourage the preservation of these trees.
LAP aims to search for a specific list of apple varieties that were known to have been grown in this area and are now considered extinct or lost. When lost varieties are rediscovered, steps will be taken to propagate the trees and make them available to the public. Research and results will be preserved through Washington State University Archives.
It is estimated that of the 17,000 named apple varieties that have originated in North America, only around 4,000 still exist today. Some of the lost varieties are truly extinct, having been chopped down for firewood or removed to make room for more profitable crops or buildings. Others have been forgotten and abandoned.
As of 2017 the LAP has re-discovered three varieties in Whitman County. The Nero, the Arkansas Beauty, and the Dickinson.