Curtis Orchard

Spend a little time in the country! Visit Curtis Orchard for a fun, inexpensive & educational farm experience for the whole family. We have apples, pumpkins, kids' activities, a bakery, and a country store.

From prairie, to farmland, to apple orchard ... how this piece of central Illinois changed! Who knew that this land would someday be one of the area's favorite places for family fun?

After the Curtis family first settled southwest of Champaign in 1973, Paul Curtis traded the traditional corn & beans for apples. He & his wife Joyce planted the first trees in 1977. Soon, this couple had a growing business on their hands. Paul & Joyce's vision of following God's will for their lives led Paul to retire from Parkland College and go into the apple business full-time.
This young couple worked hard, raised children Debbie, Greg & Chris, and grew the orchard from 700 trees in '77 to around 5000 trees today. Debbie's husband Randy Graham joined the business in '83. Now he & Debbie are co-owners and their children Aaron, Rachel, Carissa, Cameron & Julie contribute to Curtis Orchard's success.
Along the way, God's providence carried the orchard through both good & trying times. His protective hand kept the farm safe from tree-ravaging fire-blight bacteria, the extreme drought of 1988, and most recently - a late frost in 2007, which destroyed almost all apple & peach crops in Illinois. Amazingly, the Curtis crop that year not just survived, but was one of the best in years. View better LARGE.