Seven Generations of Farming Roots in Santaquin, Utah

At Fred Openshaw Farms, we aren’t just growing fruit—we’re growing a legacy. For over seven generations, our family orchard has been built on hard work, resilience, and a deep love for the land, family, and community. Farming isn’t just what we do—it’s who we are. This page is a tribute to the Openshaws who worked the soil before us and to those who continue the tradition today.

The Openshaws Today: Still Growing Strong

Fred Allen Openshaw works full-time on the farm alongside his father, Fred C. Openshaw, keeping the legacy alive. You’ll often find them tending the orchard, hauling fruit, or driving row to row talking trees and planning the next harvest. Sometimes even young Davey joins in, making him the fourth “Fred” in a long line of growers.

This generation is dedicated to high-quality fruit, sustainable practices, and sharing the orchard experience with visitors and customers.

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Three Generations of Freds Rooted in Tradition, Carried Forward

  • Cowboy Roots: Carrying the Orchard Forward.

    Nicknamed "Cowboy," Fred C. grew up as Fred's shadow - watering trees, picking fruid and learning the land alongside his father, Fred H.C. and grandfather Grandpa Fred. He later married his sweethear, Carlotte Davenport, and together they raised Fred Allen and Carlysa with the same hands-on, dirt-under-your-nails love for farming

  • Fred H.C. Openshaw: A Life in the Orchard.

    Fred H.C. Openshaw spent his life tending trees and delivering fruit across Utah and Arizona. He won over his wife, Patricia, with a playful orchard prank—pretending they were stealing apples from land that turned out to be his own.

    Fred passed in December 2024, leaving behind a legacy of laughter, hard work, and deep family pride that still guides the farm today.

  • Grandpa Fred: Fruit Stand Icon.

    Fred (Grandpa Fred) and Angie Openshaw bought the orchard and home where Dr. Eli once lived. Grandpa Fred was a fruit whisperer—he could match any customer with the perfect apple, just by asking what they liked. He opened a fruit stand on Center Street, where he sold apples and told stories for years.

    Our “Grandpa Fred’s Fabulous Fruit” logo honors his spirit and joy in sharing the fruits of his labor.

From Livestock to Orchards

In the early 1980s, Fred H.C. Openshaw found raising animals hard to balance with his military and education careers. Seeking a better fit for the family’s lifestyle—while staying connected to the land—the farm made a pivotal shift to orchards.

Most of the acreage was planted in tart cherry trees, and over time, the family added Red Delicious apples, nectarines, pluots, Honeycrisp apples, and peaches, gradually shaping the orchard into what it is today.

Fred H.C. and his wife Patricia raised six children on the farm, where hard work and harvests defined everyday life. By the early 2000s, Fred H.C. had retired and found new purpose working alongside his son, Fred 3, continuing the Openshaw legacy—one row at a time.

Through every season of change, we’ve stayed true to our roots—hands in the soil, shaping trees, walking the rows, and growing the best fruit we can.

Pictured: Fred H.C. with his wife Patty and their four oldest kids—including young Fred 3, future farmer, right by his dad.

Cowboy Dreams and Hometown Hustle

Before the shift to fruit trees, Fred H.C. chased his cowboy dream. He bought 40 head of cattle at $200 each (worth over $2,000 per cow today) with plans for dairy and auction sales. But nearly a fifth of the herd died soon after arriving in Utah.

Still, the family carried on—raising cattle on a 15-acre plot west of town (near today’s Blue Flame Propane). Before that, Fred H.C. and his father had raised 150 hogs on Center Street—until growing neighborhoods made pigs less than popular. The move to orchards turned out to be not just practical—but legacy-defining.

Pictured here: Fred H.C. with his parents, Fred I and Angeline—three generations rooted in grit and growth.

Openshaw Orchard Beginnings: The First Seeds of Legacy

  • Dr. Eli Openshaw: Healing with Orchards.

    Eli Openshaw, son of Samuel and Esther, combined his passions for medicine and horticulture. He planted an orchard at the mouth of Santaquin canyon, where patients who couldn’t afford care could work to pay for treatment. His story became a quiet legend who's healing hands and homegrown roots nourished a community.

  • Samuel & Esther Openshaw: Where legacy took root.

    Samuel Openshaw married Esther Johnson, daughter of Benjamin Johnson, and learned to farm alongside his father-in-law. Together, they planted the foundation of a mulitgenerational orchard legacy uniting two pioneering families and sowing the seeds for generations of Openshaw farmers.

  • Benjamin Johnson: A legend that almost never was.

    In 1850, horticulturist Benjamin Johnson brought apple seeds across the plains to Santaquin. When the trees didn’t sprout, he gave the plot to a neighbor—who accidentally weeded out the baby apple trees. It’s a funny reminder that our orchard was nearly lost before it began.

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