Our Heritage

Stemilt’s company roots trace back to 1893, when the first generation of Mathisons homesteaded 160 acres on Stemilt Hill overlooking the Columbia River and town of Wenatchee, Washington. By 1914, Thomas Cyle Mathison began planting apple, pear and cherry orchards in the fertile soils of Stemilt Hill, where high-elevation microclimates offered ideal growing conditions for tree fruits.

In 1947, Chris Mathison, Thomas Cyle's son, died in a tragic accident that occurred as he tried to save an irrigation reservoir from destruction during a winter flood. The Mathison family persevered, continuing the hard work of maintaining the orchards. Just back from WWII, Tom Mathison (Chris’ youngest son) took a leadership role in the family business.

The Mathisons fruit business grew slow and steady, and like other farms ran into tough times. Despite the challenges, Tom forged ahead and by 1961 had constructed the family’s first packinghouse located on Stemilt Hill. In 1964, Tom established the family’s first controlled atmosphere storage room and formally incorporated Stemilt Growers.

Expansion continued and by 1975 the Mathisons built a state-of-the-art apple, pear, and cherry packing storage facility at Olds Station in Wenatchee. Tom moved the company headquarters from Stemilt Hill to the new location, making Olds Station the hub of Stemilt’s operations.

In 2005, Tom passed on the company presidency to his grandson, West Mathison. Possessing the same drive and determination as his grandfather, West continues to take steps to make Stemilt a stronger business entity and live out its mission - maximize long-term return to the land by building consumer demand.

Stemilt's Founding Father

1909	Articles of incorporation filed for Stemilt Creek Irrigation Co. of Wenatchee. The capital stock is placed at $20,000 and the principals are J.W. Rose, Thomas Mathison, F.M. Cammack, J.R. Chase and A.L. McMullen.
1964	Tom Mathison formally incorporates Stemilt Growers.
1975	Olds Station facility in Wenatchee completed, becoming Stemilt's main operation.
1984	Stemilt Management, Inc. forms serving as an orchard management firm.
1986	Stemilt purchases its Columbia Street plant in Wenatchee from Welch Fruit.
1988	Cherry fumigation added to Olds Station plant enabling cherry exports to Japan.
1989	R & D department established; Responsible Choice program launched.
1990-1995	Receiving/storage facilities constructed in Pasco and Quincy, Washington, to service Stemilt's growers in the Columbia Basin.
1997-1998	Complete revamp of Olds Station plant adds a new hand pack line, two tray-fill lines, and a bagging line, bringing state-of-the-art automation to the apple industry.
1999	Exportadora Stemilt Chile Limitada - Stemilt forms an export company in Chile for apples and cherries.
2000	After several years of research and development, non-destructive sweetness testing based on near-infrared technology (NIR) is put on line.
April 2003	Stemilt purchases majority ownership of Chinchiolo Fruit Co. in Stockton, California, one of the largest shippers of California cherries; Company is named Chinchiolo Stemilt California.
May 2003	Stemilt forms an agreement with Sierra Hills in Stockton, California, to market their apples and pears. The former Sierra Hills Marketing team becomes part of the Stemilt sales & marketing staff but remains based in Stockton, California.
May 2003	Marketing alliance formed between Stemilt and Douglas Fruit Co. of Pasco, Washington, one of the state's largest soft fruit shippers; Douglas sales staff joins Stemilt sales & marketing, most of which remain based in Pasco.
August 2004	Stemilt acquires the exclusive rights to market and propagate the Pinova apple variety. Stemilt renames the apple Pinata.
October 2004	Stemilt creates a marketing alliance with Pepin Heights Growers, a fruit grower-packer-shipper in Lake City, Minn.
March 2005	Stemilt earns the Diamond Crystal Award for its health-related promotional programs in 2004. The honor is the highest award given by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, representing the produce industry nationwide.
April 2005	Chinchiolo Stemilt California installs an all-new Rainier cherry line in Stockton.
June 2005	Stemilt launches cherry promotion with Sesame Workshop and features Elmo from the children's program Sesame Street.
June 2005	Stemilt installs a blueberry line at its Miller Street facility and begins packing, shipping, and marketing Stemilt Hill Blues.
July 2005	Tom Mathison, Stemilt founder, becomes Chairman of the Stemilt Board and transfers the presidency of the company to grandson West Mathison.
November 2005	Stemilt launches Bountiful Fruit, an on-line gift fruit business.
September 2006	Stemilt beginsÂ the three-yearÂ process to transitionÂ its entire peach and nectarine crop to organic production.
May 2006	Stemilt signs an agreement with Warmerdam Packing LLC of Hanford, Calif., allowing Stemilt exclusive rights to grow, pack, and market all cherries from the Sequoiaâ„¢ group produced in Washington.
January 2007	Stemilt launches AppleSweets, a line of sliced apple products. The value-added products feature both traditional and naturally flavored sliced apples.
April 2007	Stemilt and Peshastin Hi-Up Growers form a partnership and become one of the largest pear shippers in North America. From 2007 onward, Stemilt markets 100 percentÂ of Hi-Up's pear crop.
August 2008	Stemilt opens a state-of-the-art pear facility in Wenatchee. The facilityÂ features two commit-to-pack lines, a post-harvesting ripening center and a network of cold storage rooms.
December 2008	Stemilt founder and industry pioneer Tom Mathison dies at the age of 82. Stemilt president West Mathison is named interim Chairman of the Board.
March 2010	Stemilt joins forces with Dovex Fruit Company to become the largest supplier of organic tree fruits in the nation. Fruit from both companies will be packed under the Stemilt label.