Peter Gideon & the Wealthy Apple

As the ever popular Minnesota State Fair rages on in Saint Paul, it’s lost on the common resident just how big a role Lake Minnetonka played in the fairs of yesterday. In the Mid 1860’s, Tonka Bay resident Peter Gideon burst onto the scene of horticulture with his creation of the first winter hardy apple variant. Prior to this, apples were unable to survive in the harsh climates of the Midwest and, in many cases, in the climates of other states to the East.

Gideon moved to Tonka Bay in 1853 to a home near what is now the Hazelwood restaurant. Right away, he began planting apple seeds with the hope of creating a variety which would survive in winter. It would take him 15 years of struggle, poverty and, literally, the shirt off his back before a tree would finally survive and bear a few tiny fruit. However, this was all he needed to continue to persevere in his trials. The fruit would bear the name of his wife, Wealthy, and go on to international acclaim. It was from this apple that every Minnesota apple can trace its roots. (Pun much intended)

In those days, the place to display one’s accomplishments was the Minnesota State Fair, which Gideon quickly found himself at the center of. Yearly, Gideon displayed hundreds, then thousands, of Wealthy apples. Patrons could get samples, horticulturists procured seeds, and Gideon’s fame increased. However, under the surface, his moralist views began to clash with the evolving nature of the State Fair. Eventually, he began to publicly decry the fair altogether, with a strong abhorrence for horse racing, which brought with it betting and gambling.

Gideon went as far as entirely removing himself from the fair which, for the time, had a major effect on the fair’s attendance. Due to these views, and many others, Gideon was eventually wrestled away from the spotlight and, in 1899, he died with little public acclaim for the mega-industry he was responsible for creating.

There’s no doubt that, 126 years after his death, Peter Gideon would despise the State Fair for all its gluttony and hedonism. However, his time has long since passed and the Fair has largely morphed from what it was when he lived. Yet, to the considerate visitor, Gideon still quietly attends the fair. . . Just this year, once more, the Wealthy apple won second prize in a competition. Originally mislabeled as a Red Delicious, the fruit was correctly identified and credited for its flavor, versatility, and hardiness.

Placed among dozens of newer varieties, early for its season, and painfully well known in the horticultural community, the Wealthy still places among the grandest of apples. Such is the legacy of Peter Gideon, the man who ignited Minnesota's fruit industry.

Photos taken 08/26/2025, Minnesota State Fair Grounds’ Agricultural Building.