By David Abruzzi, Cacapon Preservation Solutions
With the beginning of commercial navigation of the Potomac River in 1749 by fur traders of the Ohio Company, who traveled as far west as Cumberland, MD, land in the area of present day Paw Paw was settled by farmers and rivermen. As additional settlers began arriving around 1800 in the immediate area of present day Paw Paw, a town began to emerge, and this growth accelerated in 1836 as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company began work on the Paw Paw Tunnel directly across the Potomac River in Maryland. Then two years later, in 1838, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - constructing a rail line from Harpers Ferry to Cumberland, MD - reached the settlement. Shortly thereafter two general merchandise stores and a train depot (1845) were constructed.
The Paw Paw Tunnel on the C&O Canal (Photo by S. Spencer)
In 1846 the first Post Office was established with Isaac Baker as the first postmaster and the settlement was officially referred to as “Isaac Baker’s Store” or “Isaac Baker’s Depot”. Later the settlement was identified as “Paw Paw Tunnel”, eventually “Tunnel” was dropped and the area became simply known as “Paw Paw”.
In 1894 three brothers (Henry W. “Harry” Miller, Gilbert P. “Gib” Miller, and L. Porter “Port” Miller) came to Morgan and Hampshire counties to raise fruit originally from Gerradstown, WV where their father had established his first commercial orchard in 1851. By 1910 there were more than 150 commercial orchards in Morgan and Hampshire counties. Per information from an old pamphlet on the Paw Paw Apple Industry, Henry Miller started his first orchard with several thousand peach trees. In 1910, a disease known as “The Yellows” wiped out most of the peach industry in the area and much of the eastern U.S., leading Henry Miller and his brothers to shift primarily to apples. Mr. H.W. Miller had established his orchard in Paw Paw in 1898 and in 1912 he and his brothers combined their orchards (Imperial Orchard, Allegany Orchard Co. and Martin’s Mountain Orchard Co.) into the Consolidated Orchard Company. In 1920, Consolidated built its first packing house. A 1919 census of orchards by the WV Department of Agriculture recorded eight orchards in Paw Paw, with an inventory of 68,700 apple trees and a crop of 32,200 barrels (nearly 105,000 bushels) of fruit.
The “Mountaineer” brand of apples, grown and packed by Consolidated, was patented in 1924. In 1928, Consolidated Distributors, Inc. was created to market Paw Paw’s fruit around the world under several different labels including “Skip’s Best Apples” (named after the packinghouse supervisor), and “Uncle Port’s Apples”, which was named for one of the Miller brothers. The company established its offices in Paw Paw for handling fruit produced locally by large and small producers. In addition to Consolidated, there were several other smaller companies and packing houses located in the area.
In July 1939 the Consolidated Orchard Packing Plant burned down, requiring the use of nearby packing plants to make it through the season. By 1940, a new modern packing plant was ready and capable of storing 130,000 bushels of apples. This plant was expanded over the years and by 1963 it had increased in size to allow for another 75,000 bushels.
On April 16, 1948 Consolidated Orchard hosted the dedication of the B&O Railroad Paw Paw Pullman car. The car was assigned to the Capitol Limited route from Washington, DC to Chicago. B&O chose to dedicate a Pullman car to honor “Paw Paw” because of the importance of Paw Paw as an apple producing center, and the prominence of Henry Miller, Jr as a producer, shipper, and an apple authority throughout the United States. The distinguished visitors were treated to dinner at a local restaurant (the Lark Inn). Henry Miller, Jr had funded the construction of a new Lark Inn adjacent to the packing plant specifically to host dignitaries and business associates who came from across the globe to Paw Paw to do apple business.
A model of the B&O Paw Paw Pullman car
Mr. Henry W. Miller, Jr (1903-1977) carried on the family legacy and was known nationally and internationally for his innovations in growing, packing, and shipping fruit from Morgan County for 52 years. He realized the benefits of a stable labor force and adopted a profit-sharing plan for his employees. He was a member of the International Apple Association, Inc., served on its Board of Directors three different times, served as Chairman of the Board, was elected its treasurer, and then as its President. Mr. Miller was a consultant to the Secretary of Agriculture during the Eisenhower administration, as well as advisor to the Secretary of Commerce during the Nixon administration.
In 1976, Consolidated was sold to a group of investors from New York and California and the management shifted to San Francisco. At the time, the company was producing well over 550,000 bushels of apples annually and could store nearly 325,000 bushels in refrigerated and controlled buildings. The company employed 85-90 workers year-round in the orchards and the packing houses, with the number of employees growing to more than 200 during the harvest season.
The orchard industry in Paw Paw ended abruptly after the severe Election Day flooding in November 1985 when the Potomac River crested in Paw Paw at 54 feet, nearly 29 feet above flood stage. At the time, the packing plants were full of apples having just finished the picking season wiping out an entire year’s crop.
Further Reading:
Lewis Largent, “Historical Sketch of Paw Paw,” in Once Upon a Time in Paw Paw, ed. Janet Galliher and Vicki Sirbaugh (1997).
Morgan County Historical & Genealogical Society, Berkeley Springs, WV, Morgan County, WV and its People, (Dallas: Taylor Publishing Co, 1981).
”Paw Paw Apple Industry” (excerpt from an old pamphlet), in Once Upon a Time in Paw Paw, ed. Janet Galliher and Vicki Sirbaugh (1997).
Kate Shunney, “When Paw Paw smelled like apples in the fall”, The Morgan Messenger, August 30, 2022.
The 1940 Consolidated Orchards packing plant
