Where it all began...
It all started when…
Millstone Creek Orchards began in 2001, when Byrd and Diane Isom planted the first rows of apple trees alongside Parks Crossroad Church Rd. At first, Byrd's plan consisted of selling fresh apples out of the back of his pickup truck. However, in 2004, Millstone Creek Orchards opened their doors to the community and 2o years later, we are still here and happier than ever. Millstone Creek Orchards is family-owned and operated, and we love sharing what we do with our community and helping our guests experience the wonders of Mother Nature. We now have 18 acres full of farm-fresh blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, flowers, grapes, apples, pumpkins, and pecans, which are all available for u-pick.
Our History
The beginnings of MCO
Following Byrd’s vision, we opened the front doors to The Apple Barn Country Store in 2004, and the first u-pick customers arrived shortly after. In addition to picking their own fruit, customers also enjoyed a hayride, picnic, or a walk through our nature trails.
Granny's Kitchen is Born
Over the years, the farm has continued to change with the times. During our 2008 season, we introduced Granny’s Kitchen, our on-site bakery and cannery and made our first wine cake. Since then, we’ve expanded our Orchard offerings to include more than a dozen different baked and canned goods. A little sugar, a little spice, and everything yummy comes from Granny’s Kitchen.
Apple Cider...An Orchard Favorite
While we started hand pressing fresh apple cider when we opened, our guests loved our cider so much that in 2009 we added a commercial hydraulic cider press and a 300 gallon cooling/holding tank. We learned that pressing cider by hand was too slow and labor intensive for such a high demand, and our hydraulic cider press makes pressing cider faster and a whole lot easier. We now press 300+ gallons a week of fresh juice from September through December.
With every good apple cider, there is an even better apple cider donut
In 2016, after so many requests for apple cider donuts, we purchased our first donut machine and Granny’s Goodies, home of our famous apple cider donuts, was established. Our fresh apple cider is now sold by the half gallon, as fresh-pressed apple cider slushies, hot apple cider, and in donut form. Baked fresh every weekend from September-December, these hot and fresh apple cider donuts have guests lined up at the gate. Each donut tray is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with our apple cider dipping sauce…yum!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Sweet Retreat ice cream
Granny's Kitchen, Granny's Goodies …what’s next? That’s a question that we ask ourselves constantly, and in 2018, we said…An Ice Cream Parlor! Featuring 12 mouthwatering ice cream flavors, floats, specialty floats, ice cream sandwiches, and more, Sweet Retreat is home of all things sweet and cool! Open every weekend from May-December, stop by for a scoop or two of farm-fresh Homeland Creamery ice cream.
20 seasons later...
This year, we are celebrating our 20th season, and we're still as happy and in love with our work as we were the first day we opened our doors. We love sharing our family orchard with our guests, and we hope you will continue to make wonderful memories here for years to come. Thank you for supporting our family farm and for sharing your families and memories with us!