John S. Harris

John Samuel Harris (August 17, 1826 – March 24, 1901) was an early American horticulturist, the first person to successfully plant and propagate apple trees in Minnesota, a climate in which it was previously thought that the fruit could not survive the harsh northern U.S. winters.

Harris was born on a farm in Seville, Ohio. His father died in 1844, and 18-year-old John was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. At age 21 Harris enlisted in the Army infantry, and participated in the war with Mexico.

Harris' health was poor in 1848 when the war ended, so he traveled to Wisconsin in hopes of finding a healthy climate.

Harris planted apple tree starts sent from other states and then planted the seeds of apples which those trees bore before cold Minnesota winters set in. When the trees bore apples, Harris took the hardiest and replanted. He continued this selective planting to produce apple trees that could survive the Minnesota winter climate.

Harris was a founding member of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, in 1866. He displayed an exhibit on apple propagation at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. at age 74, in 1901, in La Crescent, after a long illness. He is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in La Crescent.