OTE - Oregon Travel Experience

Hoover-Minthorn Pear

Posted on: January 8th, 2025 in Heritage Tree Details |

Pyrus communis– Winter Nelis

This Winter Nelis pear tree, planted in 1879, is associated with the boyhood years of President Herbert Hoover. When the 11 year-old Hoover arrived here from Iowa in 1885 to live with his uncle John Minthorn and family, he joined his aunt and cousins in the task of making pear butter. Hoover later wrote that after the ill effects of an almost exclusive pear diet for two days, he could not eat pears again for many years.

Tree Facts

  • Approx. height: 30′
  • Planted in: 1879
  • Circumference: 4′ 7″
  • Dedicated on: August 10, 2005
  • Crown: 27′ – 28′

Learn More: Visit Oregon Encyclopedia

Location: Hoover-Minthorn House Museum, 115 South River Street, Newberg