History Corner

News of Mesa Orchards was sparse in 1916 and 1917. Presumably the trees were bearing fruit and bringing in some badly needed income.

Cambridge News, September 28, 1917: “Elberta peaches are now ready for delivery at the new packing house near the Mesa store, and they should last until October 15. – J.P. Gray, Mesa Idaho.”

By 1918, enough people owned automobiles that demand was high for roads on which they could drive. The old wagon roads simply would not do. I don’t know the route of the old Moser wagon road before it went down the north side of Mesa Hill, but in 1918 the state built a new North – South Highway route that passed right through “downtown” Mesa and created a set of switchbacks down the north side of Mesa Hill that are still there today, although they are no longer in use.

The News, Cambridge Idaho - July 19, 1918: “The new road, eliminating the grades that now separate the Indian Valley district from the remainder of the country and by natural route winding through the orchard and passing the townsite, will present a view that will be long remembered by every tourist who passes.”

In the same issue: “A fruit expert who visited the Mesa orchards last week made the statement that, in his judgment, fully one half of all the peaches in the state of Idaho this year are at Mesa. We understand that to care for the apple crop a storage warehouse with capacity of 50,000 will be added to the present equipment soon, and that additional buildings will necessarily be erected in succeeding years to provide for the growth of the trees goes without saying.”

David W. Van Hoesen’s son, Myderse Van Hoesen, said:

“My father came to Idaho in March of 1919, after having disposed of all his interests in New York State. He brought with him, as a partner, Charles P. Seymour, a long time friend and business associate. The Orchard was owned a operated by the partnership of Van Hoesen and Seymour.

“Apparently a number of those who invested in the development grew impatient with the time involved for fruit trees to mature, and when asked to put up more money they decided to send my father, David W. Van Hoesen, then a practicing corporation lawyer in central New York State, to Idaho to investigate the project and report back. My father became quite enthusiastic about the possibilities at Mesa, and advised his ‘clients’ that they should ‘stay with the project’. When some of them refused to go along my father bought out their interests and finally became so heavily involved financially, that he decided to give up his law practice and go into the fruit business a ‘Mesa’. I think he was influenced by an inherent desire to be a producer rather than just a consumer, of some of the good things in life.

“About the middle of March, my brother, Enderse, our cousin Van Hart, and I arrived at a railroad siding several miles from Mesa on the ‘PIN’ road, (The Pacific & Idaho Northern). Our trunks and belongings were dumped off the one car train into the snow at the siding, and we shivered in the cold waiting for a sleigh from Mesa to come and pick us up, and wondering why we had ever agreed to give up the comforts we had become accustomed to and come to this god-forsaken place. There wasn’t a person or habitation in sight. But after we were established in a tent on the townsite and had been given a hot dinner at the cook house, then about a half mile from the townsite at the barns and livestock area, we became enthusiastic again.

“It was some time before our arrival at Mesa that my father had made an offer to J.P. Gray either to buy him out or to sell out to him at a specified price. Jude Gray elected to sell and later went into the fruit business near Nampa, Idaho, quite successfully as I recall.”

Adams County Leader, Mar 21, 1919 – “J.P. Gray has disposed of his interests in the Mesa orchards and will surrender his management of the project.”

David W. Van Hoesen bought out most of the investors who had become impatient with their rate of return. Mynderse said his father, “became so heavily involved financially, that he decided to give up his law practice and go into the fruit business a Mesa.” David Van Hoesen’s partner, Charles Seymour, owned the remaining shares of the orchard company.

David Van Hoesen was born in New York in 1864, so he would have been about 55 years old when he came to live at Mesa.

When the Cambridge newspaper announced the new owners of the orchard company, it said Mesa was, “one of the foremost apple and peach-growing industries of the United States conducted under on management.”

Continued next week