The Story Behind White House Fruit Farm

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Little did our family’s ancestors realize when they first settled in northeastern Ohio, in the early 1800s, that these beautiful rolling hills would become some of the most productive farmland in the state.  For many years Mahoning County was one of the leading apple producing counties in Ohio.



In 1924, Jerome Hull, then Mahoning County Superintendent of Schools, purchased the 100-acre farm from his uncle, Ensign Baird.  Along with his new bride, Doris Humes-Hull, he immediately began growing apples, peaches, and children – nine altogether!  Although a full-time educator, Jerome maintained a strong passion for fruit farming.



During the Depression Jerome and Doris began raising fresh-market turkeys in order to keep the farm afloat.  At its peak our farm raised and dressed 5,000 turkeys which were sold to area grocery stores and direct to our customers on the farm.



Of their nine children, only son David inherited the fruit growing passion of his father.  With his eyes on the future, he left the turkey business in 1968 to concentrate on developing the farm into a fruit-and-vegetable retail operation.  In 1978 David, his wife Phyllis, and their four children cleaned the 1881 bank barn on the farm and turned it into a year-round farm market.