Genetic Analysis and History of the Mount Wanda Olive Orchard at John Muir National Historic Site

University of California, Davis, Foundation Plant Services and National Park Service, DOI Region 10, Cultural Resources Program. 2021. Genetic Analysis and History of the Mount Wanda Olive Orchard at John Muir National Historic Site. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. National Park Service, DOI Region 8,9,10, and 12, Cultural Resources Program. National Park Service, DOI Region 10, San Francisco Regional office

Orchards in the United States have changed over time from growing a number of diverse varieties before 1900 to the emphasis, in commercial orchards, on growing a very limited number of preferred varieties with specific traits suited to larger-scale production and changing marketing opportunities. Understanding which varieties were planted over time is key to filling in a complete history of agriculture, human settlement, and development patterns that we see today. The analysis of historic fruit varieties that exist today is part of the mission of the National Park Service (NPS) to identify, evaluate, and list significant cultural resources to the National Register of Historic Places in order to preserve and interpret these resources for the public. Within California, olive production has played a significant role in the state’s agricultural development. Understanding California’s history of olive production is important to accurately assessing the significance of olive orchards of the past as compared to current olive orchards. Few historic olive orchards have been identified in California. There are two known olive orchards in the NPS system, one at Channel Islands National Park, and one at John Muir National Historic Site (John Muir NHS). Using John Muir NHS as a case study, this project has identified the varieties of olives at John Muir NHS located in the orchard at Mount Wanda, and a history of those varieties has been prepared to provide the historic context of orchard production throughout the state. The genetic testing and analysis protocol developed by Foundation Plant Services at University of California, Davis (FPS) has been used to identify the olive varieties in the orchard. The NPS study of United States orchard history and National Register nomination requirements has been used to develop the context for the historic analysis. John Muir NHS is located in Contra Costa County, California in the city of Martinez. While there are several orchards within the National Park unit, the scope of this project is to conduct genetic analysis and historical research of the Mount Wanda olive orchard at John Muir NHS (See Appendix A for location map). The genetic analysis results have been used to guide the historic research into primary source material related to historic olive production in California. The intent of this study is to further inform the park management’s decisions into how to best care for the trees, provide public access to the orchard, and interpret to the public the historic development of olive production in California. The genetic analysis of the olive orchard involves DNA-based variety identification of sampled olive trees using a standardized protocol developed by Foundation Plant Services, UC Davis.

Type
Published Report
Authors
University of California, Davis, Foundation Plant Services; National Park Service, DOI Region 10, Cultural Resources Program
Date of Issue
2021-04-01
Publisher
National Park Service, DOI Region 8,9,10, and 12, Cultural Resources Program
Units
JOMU , PWR
Keywords
California, Contra Costa County, genetic analysis, geontypes, history, John Muir, John Muir National Historic Site, John Strentzel, Manzanillo, Mission, Mount Wanda, olives, orchard, Redding Picholine
Subjects
CRIS-CL: 725020: John Muir National Historic Site

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