Conservation Lands

The Lindabury Orchard

Join friends and neighbors for the Second Annual Cider Festival on Oct 1st, 2005 at Lindabury Orchard, at the top of Christian Hill. There will be food, music, fun and games for children, and, of course, lots of apple cider.

In A Lindabury Apple Tree

In October 2003, the town of Amherst purchased the Lindabury Apple Orchard from the estate of long-time Amherst resident Jack Lindabury. Jack Lindabury died in August 2001 and his will gave the town of Amherst the right of first refusal for the purchase of the bulk of his property. In a public/private partnership, the town ultimately secured and purchased a 47-acre parcel of orchard and forest south of Christian Hill Road.

“Friends of the Orchard” is a community group formed to manage the orchard on behalf of the town and the Amherst Conservation Commission (ACC). Friends of the Orchard is a subcommittee of the ACC and reports directly to the ACC. Neighbors of the Orchard and Amherst citizens may join this group to help maintain and manage the orchard.

The Lindabury House from the Orchard

The property known as the Lindabury Orchard actually contains a significant amount of wooded land. It falls away from Christian Hill Road at a gentle grade, transitioning from orchard to heavy forest near the bottom of the hill. A large stonewall marks the end of the orchard and the beginning of the forest. There are parts of the orchard just a few hundred yards from Christian Hill Road that are as serene and scenic as any in southern New Hampshire. These areas are often used for passive recreation by neighbors (everything from painting to snowshoeing). The wildlife in the orchard is also prolific. At the present time a flock of turkeys, some deer, and a fox or two are the most observable tenants in the orchard.

Lindabury Peach Trees

While the orchard has been mowed since it went out of production, the apple and peach trees have been unmanaged. McIntosh and Cortlands comprise most of the apples in the Lindabury Orchard. McIntosh was a preferred apple because of its many uses. Being a semi-tart apple, it may be use for pies, cider or simply eating. There are a few other varieties in the orchard (Golden Delicious and Spies) planted to help in pollination. At the southern end of the orchard you can find a group of peach trees. They are surprisingly excellent producers and vary in maturity and variety. They were probably planted to extend the harvest season. Peaches ripen in late August and apples about three weeks later.

If you walk around the Lindabury Orchard you will notice trees of many stages of maturity. Many of the trees that were planted during the early twentieth century have been replaced, but some are still going strong after 80 years! Jack Lindabury planted a special group of trees for his own private picking. These trees are in the prime of their useful life and are located just a short walk from Christian Hill Road. In the last decade many semi-dwarf trees were added. They have increased in popularity in recent years due to the fact that their yield is almost as good as their 30-foot sisters but they only grow to be about 10-15 feet high. This makes them much easier to prune, spray, and pick.

A Lindabury Stonewall

The Lindabury Orchard is a special place. As the town’s last orchard, we are fortunate that Amherst residents and private donors were able to work together to raise the money necessary to purchase the property and preserve it as the orchard that it has been for so many decades. Taking the next step to effectively manage our new town orchard will be challenging. But with good planning and hard work, we feel that we can make the orchard into an important regional asset that enriches the town’s education, recreation, conservation, and aesthetic qualities. Maintaining an orchard, even one that is not productive, is a significant undertaking. On going maintenance and improvements include, brush clearing, mowing, poison ivy eradication, pruning fruit trees, parking, establishment of an apiary, and many other tasks.

For more information on Lindabury Orchard and the Friends of the Orchard, contact ACC member Graham Hankey.