Apple of your eye? Rundown birthplace of the McIntosh is for sale

The birthplace of the beloved McIntoshred apple its farmhouse abandoned, its treesovergrown andits outbuildings fallen into disrepairis up for sale in Dundela, Ont., about 75 kilometres southeast of Ottawa.

Its owner, 76-year-old Gerd Skof, purchased the McIntosh farmhouse and orchard with his wife in 1987, but the historic propertywas nevera Garden of Eden forhim.

To keep out nosy, history-crazed interlopers, Skof put up"no trespassing" signs. When the curious began hopping the fence at the edge of the McIntosh family graveyard, he added an extra line of fencing.

Today, the McIntoshred apple trees go unpruned and unpicked, with hundreds of kilograms of fruit rotting on the ground. Some have disappeared in wild overgrowth, along withpear and plum and walnut counterparts,as the orchard slowly returns to bush.

Some of the original farm structures have fallen down, and others are slowly giving in to neglect.

The 5.5-hectareproperty is listed for $875,000.

Farmhouse abandoned

Skof, a former accountant and landlord who immigrated to Canada from Austria, moved out with his wife two years ago due toconcerns that the property was too far from a hospital, should theysuddenly need one.

Rainwater and raccoons have at times taken theirplace in the vacant farmhouse, and in theoutbuildings where the bee hives are kept, bears predictably visit.

Skofblames thedisrepairmostly on others tradespeople didn't show up, or showed up and did badwork.

At some point, somebody broke into the basement and stole a furnace.

"What can you do?" he shrugged.

McIntoshhistory

Apple trees have persisted on the propertywith andwithout help for more than 200 years.

After some family troubles, 19-year-old John McIntosh left New York and settled near Iroquois,Ont., in 1796. In 1811 he moved to what would become Dundela where, while clearing the forest, he discovered some youngapple seedlings and transplanted them.

One survived. The tender-fleshed apples it produced were a perfect mix of tart and sweet.

By 1835, McIntosh's son Allan McIntosh had learned how to clone the trees by grafting stems from the original. Thefamily started a "McIntosh Red"nursery, and Allan, a travellingpreacher, spreadthe good word of their fruit far and wide.

The original tree, meanwhile, continued to produce applesuntil it was damaged in a fire andfell down in 1909 or 1910.

Mourners laid a small headstone at the stump of the treenot long after.Today, it'spainted in a thick crackle of blue-green lichen, its words barely discernible: "The site of the original McIntoshappletree 1811-1906."

In 1912, a second commemorativestone for the birthplace of the McIntosh was installed in front of the property, near the edge of the road.

'Run down for too long'

All these years later, Skof'sasking pricehas neighbours wondering if he's serious.Skof won't say how much he paid for the property. "I wasn't worried about the price."

The property has "been run downfor too long," said Dean Beckstead,co-owner of Smyth's Apple Orchard, a five-generation orchard just down the roadwhereMcIntosh trees were grafted from the original tree.

"Who would want to take over that job of cleaning it up?It would be a hell of a pile of money and work to get it presentable,and then to try to do anything with it."

Skof, meanwhile, saidhe's somewhat reluctant to sell out of concern aboutcapital gains taxes, but still, "the property here has lots of potential for somebody."

If someone does decide to install a cider press and open the property to public tours, it won't be him.

Nor would he sell it to the government, he said, partly out of fear of re-opening past tax trouble with Revenue Canada, and partly out of a more general distrust.

Skof once turned down an overturefromthe mayor of South DundasDundela is part of the municipality to have the property made more inviting for tourists.

"I'm not getting involved with the government. I don't trust them," he said.

Birthplace of McIntosh apple for sale

6 years ago

Duration 0:47

Gerd Skof purchased the McIntosh orchard and farmhouse in 1987. He moved out a couple of years ago and is now hoping to sell it.

Feds not interested

In 1962, the Ontario Heritage Foundation erected a blue-and-gold plaque outside the former McIntosh homestead, and in 2001, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled another plaque in a nearby park, declaring the apple's discovery a National Historic Event. Butthe propertywas not designated a National Historic Site.

In an emailedstatement, Parks Canadasaidacquiringand developing property of historical significanceis "a very rare occurrence."

Daniel Savoie, a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage, said the famous red apple doesn't have the status of the beaver or the Bluenose, and that "at this time, the government of Canada is not seeking to adopt any new official symbols."

'It's a shame'

As Beckstead added a few McIntoshes to a Smyth-branded red bin, he shrugged.

"The younger generationreally, truly, how many care about the history?" he asked.

"To me it's just another piece of property with two monuments on it. That's probably all it'll ever be."

"It's a shame to see anything like that."