Halls Apple Market, Brockville, ON

In 1947 Melville Hall, his wife Emily and their 19 year-old son Kyle moved from the city of Montreal, Quebec to a small farm east of Brockville, Ontario. Currently 120 acres in size, the farm was originally a mixed facility, but after several years of hard work, Kyle determined that specialization was the key to increased prosperity. So in 1955 he built a cold storage unit and focused on growing apples while phasing out the other market garden crops and the animals. The farm grew throughout the 60’s and 70’s with Dominion Stores as their main customer. But shortly after Kyle’s son Chris joined the family business in 1981, Dominion Stores had hard times and a devastating freeze wiped out over half of the orchard. This disaster forced the family to change its business model in order to survive the unexpected challenge. Through diversification to other chain stores and a greater emphasis on the retail market, the business bounced back. By the mid 90’s the Hall family was back in full production with a thriving customer base. In 1997, Chris and his wife Kim bought the farm from Kyle and started to focus their efforts on the retail store, known as Hall’s Apple Market. They introduced “pick-your-own” apple harvesting in 1998 and debuted a festival known as “Apple Mania” in 2001. Family fun ‘agri-tainment’ has become a hallmark of Hall’s Apple Market, which they continue to expand and refine as the years go by.