Our History
Before there were apple trees at Edwards Orchard, there were dairy cows. During the Dust Bowl of 1930, Bob Sr. and Audrey Edwards lost their Minnesota farm and returned home to Rockford. Eventually they were able to purchase their own farm on Centerville Rd., where they milked cows for 25 years.
In 1964, their son Bob showed interest in purchasing the farm to grow apples, something he and his wife Betty had been dreaming about. That spring they planted the first apple trees. As the trees grew, Bob and Betty’s 5 children helped with all of the orchard chores. Their first crop — only a few bushels of apples — they sold from a hayrack in the front yard.
To create retail space, the dairy barn was converted into the Apple Barn. A grading machine, bakery, and cider press took the place of grain storage and milking stanchions. Later additions included the Cider Cellar, Farm Museum, and children’s play area.
On January 7, 2008, a rare winter tornado hit Northern Boone County, damaging several homes and barns. At Edwards Orchard, the tornado destroyed 6 of 7 buildings. Fortunately, the apple trees were spared, saving future crops, and the unbelievable outpouring of support from the community helped make rebuilding possible.
That spring, after the rubble was cleared, new construction began from a blank slate. To preserve the feeling of the original Apple Barn, two existing buildings, an 1860 barn from Wisconsin and a 1910 barn from Illinois, were moved and reassembled on the farm. Architects and construction crews worked around the clock to open the store by September of the same year — just 7 months after the tornado hit!
Today the third and fourth generations are stewards of the farm, with 14 family members working together in the business. After 58 years, the mission is the same: to be a welcoming place where guests can bring their friends and family to celebrate autumn and share in our farm heritage.
