ASHVILLE — One of Chautauqua County’s most well-known fall destinations, the Whittier Apple Farm, has a history that spans all the way back into the 1920s.

The Whittier Apple Farm was first established in 1924 by Lowell Whittier when he moved from Albion, N.Y., with his wife, Francis. In about 1947 the farm was described in a newspaper advertisement as “one of the most successful fruit farms in the area” with 156 acres and about 1,200 trees in the orchard. The farm was once a dairy farm, which included a silo, patent stanchions, water buckets and a milk house. It is believed that the original barn dates back to sometime after the Civil War. While the silo is no longer standing, remnants of the stone foundation are still there.

Whittier also sold chickens and eggs and had a poultry house, which were picked up by the Grange League Federation, who may have also picked up milk from the farm.

The farm would then continue on with the Benninks, through Whittier’s daughter Frances Whittier Bennink. Frances was a well-known teacher in the area, born in 1916 and living until 1972. She was the eldest of three children, with a brother, John Brown Whittier and a sister Elizabeth Ann Bascom. Frances married Donald Thomas Bennink, who was a military man killed in action in 1944. Their son, Donald Thomas Bennink Jr grew up at Whittier, and is currently an attorney and retired dairy farmer. During junior high, Don raised his first two or three Holsteins in the garage on the property that also held the family car. In high school he raised a dozen or so Holsteins in the dairy barn, then owned by Kyle Morse. In 2023, Don sold his business North Florida Holsteins. He continues to reside near Bell, Florida where he and his wife Mariane are building a new home on the Suwannee River.

The renovated apartment building which now houses the groom and bridal sweets for weddings. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

THE MORSE FAMILY

Whittier Apple Farm was bought by Kyle Wade Morse in 1949 from Green Bros Lumber Company, which held the note to the farm at that time. Improvements Morse made to the farm include the apartment house, the first cider press in 1971, apple crates in 1976, a commercial sale in 1983, and also having the dairy barn converted to a retail space in that same year. A second cider press was purchased in 1989 along with a cooling unit and pasteurization began in 1997. Morse’s son Wade Stewart Morse, also helped on the farm with his wife Mary Aletha Wolfe Morse.

The orchard was later divided between the Morse family and the Hoveys, Dianne and Martin, who purchased the farm house in 1973 after the death of Frances Bennink. Public access to the business was through the driveway to the farm house and the Hoveys worked together with Kyle Morse to make a second access point, which is the drive used today.

In 1998 the remaining 154 acres of the orchard were sold in equal parcels to Kyle Morse’s sons Wade and Dale. In 2003 the Morses began purchasing fall produce from Chautauqua Produce Auction to sell, along with concord grapes from Northeast, PA. That year they also stopped local production. In 2010 the semi-dwarf orchard was bulldozed. The farm closed in 2015 after Wade Morse faced health concerns and was opened again in 2016 under the ownership of Owen and Denise Hovey, Jesse and Carrie Gould and Robert and Kristine Straight. Owen Hovey is the son of Dianne and Martin Hovey. In 2017 the interest held by Gould was sold to Owen Hovey and Robert Straight.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW

Whittier Apple Farm in Ashville provides a tradition for local families each fall. Pictured is the main barn, with a pavilion out back and a farm pond. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Since then, renovations and new additions to the farm have included a rebrand to include the farm’s wedding venue, new buildings and renovations, electrical wiring and plumbing, excavating, a commercial kitchen, indoor public restrooms with butternut wood used to frame the toilet stalls, repositioning of the stairway with a revamped balcony space using wormy maple for the floor, mobile display counter which doubles as a portable bar for weddings, rustic barn chandelier, an addition to house the bulk cider tank outside the main floor space of the barn, cider bottling station with wash sink, updated mobile display shelves, north-side interior barn walls redesigned as half-walls to provide more light and allow line-of-sight into apple packing/work area, provision of wheeled carts for customer use to transport large orders to their cars, new red metal barn roof, construction of a pond and pavilion, portable wood arbor, fieldstone rock walls, remodeling of the apartment into suites for the bride and groom which also included expanded storage space for wedding tables/chairs and an office space. The barn was renovated in 2018, and a farm pond was installed. The farm also hosts proms.

Other additions since then include; a wagon wheel chandelier in 2019, a rock wall in 2019, a patio in 2018, the first wedding held at the farm in 2019, the addition of bride and groom suites in the renovated apartment, a commercial sign in 2020, digital and print materials, the cider slushie machine in 2020, WiFi in 2021, a new two story cider press house in 2021 that had its debut season in 2023, new roofs on some of the buildings in 2021 and 2022, new press house siding in 2022, a new floor for the press house in 2023, an ATM installed, new interior finish in the press house and a new press in 2023, and extensive renovations done to the farm house. In 2023 the farmhouse and acreage were deeded by Dianne Hovey to Owen and Denise Hovey.

Dianne Hovey said the business became a good fit for her son and his partners, having grown up on the farm, and that the goal was to make it a community treasure.

“The farm is a community treasure with people who come from all over with their kids,” Hovey said. “They have a vision of more than just selling apples, but turning it into a gathering spot and event center.”

Hovey said her son and his partners were happy to pick up the mantle of the business in 2016 and that it was not sold to someone who would not be able to keep it going. She referred to Whittier Apple Farm as the “beating heart of the community” adding that it was exciting to see visitors and fun to meet the public. While they no longer grow their own apples, the farm still offers a variety of 21 different kinds brought in from Niagara County. This, Hovey said, is mainly because apples have a hard time growing in the area and they have had to deal with frost damage.

Pictured is Dianne Hovey, who owns the farm house and whose son is one of the co-owners of Whittier Apple Farm. 100 years of history has transpired in between her family’s ownership and the original owner, L Reed Whittier opening the farm in 1924. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

The farm is also a tradition for families each fall.

“Families make it a tradition to come every fall with their children and grandchildren,” Hovey said. “It’s a multigenerational experience for people in the community and a great way to take a trip through the countryside in the fall.”

Whittier Apple Farm’s season lasts from September to November. Hovey added the farm gives people a way to see the fall foliage and experience the smells and tastes of fall, including their cider which she said is the best.

In the future there is a plan for a second auxiliary kitchen in the press house and the possibility of making donuts onsite for customers. There has also been talk of a small sugaring operation, but Hovey added that for all of those involved in the farm it is a second job. The plan is also to change the way cider is pasteurized from heat to UV light, which Hovey said is faster.

Overall, Hovey invited everyone to come visit the farm next fall, especially to come and get a cider slushie.

“We always welcome new visitors and are amazed that we find new people who come for the first time every year,” Hovey said. “We’ve had international visitors and we always want to see old friends every fall.”