Thursday, July 23, 2026

Question: The entire California navel orange industry grew from two trees planted in a single Southern California city back in 1873, and one of those original trees still bears fruit there today. Which city is it?

Answer: Riverside. In 1873, Riverside settler Eliza Tibbets received two seedless navel orange trees that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had propagated from Brazilian budwood, and she reportedly kept them alive with dishwater. Their fruit was such a sensation that growers clamored for cuttings, and those two trees launched California’s navel orange industry. One of the original pair still stands and bears fruit at the corner of Arlington and Magnolia avenues in Riverside.