The original purpose of this group was to share information on how to successfully grow apples and other fruit in Minnesota.
That same year, the Minnesota legislature approved an act that provided funds to produce and distribute 2000 copies of the MSHS annual reports from 1866-1873, and further provided an appropriation for distribution of future annual reports to members.
In 1894, the Society began publishing its transactions in a monthly magazine called The Minnesota Horticulturist.
[1] In 1878, MSHS secured passage of a legislative act establishing the Minnesota Fruit Farm, an experiment station in Minnetonka, MN designed for breeding new varieties of hardy fruits adapted to Minnesota’s climate.
[1] In 1955 MSHS began a cooperative relationship with the University of Minnesota and formed a committee to study the need for an arboretum and for increased research in the field of hardy, woody perennials.