On Jan. 21, 1871, Richard A. Edes, U.S. Consul in Bahia, Brazil sent a letter to Horace Capron, Commissioner of Agriculture that reads as follows:

“I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your communication of December 15, 1870. The favorite orange of this part of Brazil, and of which this province is celebrated is named the navel orange. This orange contains no seed and for transplanting, the cuttings of the tree must be used. Such cuttings are usually put into a basket of earth of the diameter of about 10 inches and the baskets to the number of 8 or 10 are packed in a large case with a glass top. In the summer season it can be forwarded without much risk. I shall be glad to forward whatever number of cuttings may be desired and would suggest the month of May as being the most suitable for the purpose.”

Capron replied to Edes on Feb. 21, 1871 and on Apr. 20, 1871, Edes acknowledged the letter and said that he would forward the desired navel orange cuttings.

There is much debate on the arrival of the parent navel orange trees to Riverside, California from WashingtonD.C. After the trees were received from Bahia, Brazil they were budded to a rootstock by Saunders in Washington and most were sent to Florida, where they did poorly. Accounts put Eliza Tibbets in Washington, D.C. in 1873. “She was an old friend of the Saunders and while visiting with them, Mr. Saunders showed her the young navel orange trees.” McClain further stated “That no one made note of this historic event is not surprising since new varieties were constantly being brought into the area by the new settlers.

The first fruiting of the Washington navel orange. McClain reported that the first navel oranges were not produced on the trees at the Tibbets home, but rather from that of the neighbors McCoy and Cover who had budded existing seedling trees with budwood from the Tibbets’ trees when they had first arrived. Commercial exposure came with the areas first citrus fair in 1879 where the seedless navel oranges won first prize over all competition. This created a demand for budwood and a fence had to be erected around the two original trees at the Tibbets’ home to prevent theft. It is said that $1.00 a bud was paid by people anxious to get buds.

On April 23rd 1902, one of the two parent navel orange trees was transplanted from the Tibbets homestead to its present location in a small fenced park at the corner of Arlington Avenue and Magnolia Avenue. The remaining parent navel orange tree was transplanted on May 8th, 1903 to the courtyard of the Glenwood tavern, now known as the Mission Inn.

The parent Washington navel orange tree is now in its new home at the corner of Magnolia and Arlington Avenues about 1920. It is in a small park dedicated as the `Eliza Tibbets Memorial Park’ under the care of the Riverside Parks Department.The remaining parent navel orange tree was transplanted on May 8th, 1903 to the courtyard of the Glenwood tavern, now known as the Mission Inn.