Farmers around Gays Mills learned early that land on both sides of the Kickapoo River offered excellent conditions for apple growing. In 1905, John Hays and Ben Twining collected apples from eight or ten local farmers for exhibit at the State Fair, where they won first prize, then took first honors at a national apple show in New York. That success led the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society to urge a system of trial orchards around the state to encourage commercial production. The Society inspected a site on High Ridge and planted five acres in five recommended varieties. By 1911, the orchard had grown so vigorously that an organization was formed in Gays Mills to promote the sale of orchards. Today, more than a thousand acres there produce apples nationally known for their color and flavor.