Nearly a century ago Northern California apples were already known nationally and had been exported from Sacramento via railroad car for over a decade. Though today's apples have been bred down a bit from the two samples shown here, they are still international stars and even have their own shrine, El Dorado County's Apple Hill. Apples were introduced to California by Spanish missionaries, not Johnny Appleseed! During the Gold Rush hungry prospectors paid $5 for one apple.
