Also known as: Tony Apple

This is a wonderful North Carolina apple with a great story behind it. A local apple once widely grown in Rowan, Stanly and Cabarrus counties in central North Carolina, Tony is high-quality apple considered by many to be one of the finest for applesauce, apple butter, pies and drying. The true origin is uncertain, but one legend is that the apple originated as a seedling tree from seeds brought to Mt. Pleasant in Cabarrus County by a wounded Confederate soldier returning from the battle at Gettysburg. On his journey home, the soldier picked an apple from a wild tree, pocketed the seeds, and planted them in his home garden. Another story says the apple arose on the farm of a wealthy, antebellum North Carolina landowner named Drew Morgan. One day, while surveying his land with his personal slave, Tony, by his side, a small, seedling apple tree was discovered on the property. At the request of Tony, the tree was dug up and replanted near the house and named for the faithful servant. The fruit is small to medium and somewhat conical in shape. The skin is light green with an occasional light red blush on the sunny side. The fine-grained white flesh is white, moderately juicy and not very crisp. Ripens August to September.

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