The Riverside Washington Navel Orange

The Riverside Washington Navel Orange. . In 1871, a navel orange was introduced from Bahia, Brazil, to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Eliza and Luther Tibets moved from Washington, D.C., to Riverside in 1873. While in Washington, Eliza had become acquainted with William Saunders, superintendent for gardens and grounds of the Department of Agriculture. When Riverside resident Samuel McCoy, a nurseryman and orchardist, learned that Mrs. Tibbets knew Saunders, he asked her if she would request several promising orange varieties for trial in Riverside, including the navel orange from South America. Two Bahia Navel Orange trees arrived by rail, stagecoach and buckboard wagon in 1873. The variety became known as the Riverside Navel. As other local orange-growing communities were founded in Redlands, Corona and Bryn Maw, competitive real estate developers wanted to avoid the name Riverside. Consequently the Riverside Navel Orange was renamed the Washington Navel. , In 1881, 4,300 boxes of navel oranges were produced in Riverside County. By 1898, thanks in part to the advent of cold-storage train cars, 1,569,800 boxes of oranges were being produced annually from Riverside County. (source: "A Colony For Califoria" by Tom Patterson and "The Parent Navel Orange Tree" by Dr. Chester N. Roistacher)