Pennsylvania's First Tree Farm

The Miller Plantation has been heralded by the Pennsylvania Forestry Association as the State's first Tree Farm.  Started by Franklin R. Miller upon the request of his uncle Robert Falconer who instructed Miller "we must plant trees as if we shall live forever."  Miller dedicated his life's work to raising and harvesting trees for retail sale as well as studying their development and manipulating varieties to make them more suitable for planting in the area.

The Manaen Apple

Frank Miller worked to create his own variety of apple, the Manaen, which appeared in both Rural New Yorker magazine and Downing's The Fruits and Fruit-trees of America.  It was described in the Rural New Yorker as follows: 

This variety was grown from seed of the Talman Sweet, by F. R Miller, Sugar Grove, Warren Co., Pa., and first fruited in 1867. The tree is said to be a thrifty, upright grower. Young wood dark reddish brown, with a few white raised dots, and slightly downy. Leaf broad, roundish oval, coarsely serrated.

Fruit medium size, roundish oblate conical, irregular, or partially ribbed, pale whitish yellow, with deep carmine dots and marblings in sun, russet lines radiating from the stalk, scattering minute, raised, gray, or russet dots in the shade. Stalk slender. Cavity deep, broad, open, russeted. Calyx partially closed, with erect recurved, divided segments.  Basin rather deep, abrupt, generally irregular in form, usually clean and smooth, but occasionally with russeted broken lines. Flesh yellowish white, granulated, tender, moderately juicy, mild sweet, aromatic. Very good. Core small. Seeds dark rich brown, oblong, pointed. Season, last of August and September. A new variety of fine promise as an amateur's fruit. (Rural New Yorker.)

Trees Offered for Sale from the Miller Plantation in an advertisement of 1879

Inventory of the 1854 Maples

From 1854 to 1858 Frank Miller planted a maple trees to line the streets of Sugar Grove, about one every rod (about 16 feet).  Many of these trees have been lost, but we are currently taking an inventory of the original 1854 maples of Sugar Grove to help with their preservation.