The site where Apple Valley Country Store now sits was once known as Tucker Oregon. Barton and Mary Tucker and their eleven children moved here in 1887 from North Carolina where Barton fought in the Civil War.

Upon arriving in Oregon, Barton purchased a mill -- some of the finished product can still be seen inside the Cloud Cap Inn, built in 1889.

When the Tucker Mill was destroyed by fire in 1900, he rebuilt, enlarged, and added a box factory to service the growing orchard industy.

Apple orchards had been introduced in 1854 by Nathiel Coe and the first commercial orchard was planted in 1876. While apples were the dominant crop, a disastrous freeze in 1919 convinced many growers to replace their trees with pears. Today, the Hood River Valley is the largest pear growing district in the State of Oregon and one of the largest in the nation.

The original Tucker homestead was destroyed by fire but rebuilt in 1892. The new home was considered so palatial that it soon became the focal point of Sunday afternoon buggy rides in the valley. It can still be seen directly across the street from Apple Valley. Now over a century later, the Tucker legacy continues. It is apparent when traveling over the Hood River on Tucker Bridge, driving down Tucker Road into Hood River, climbing Tucker Hill leading up to Odell, or camping at Tucker Park. Although Apple Valley Country Store is not one of the original buildings, it was build with some of the lumber salvaged from old buildings that sat on this historic site.