Stark Brothers was founded in 1816. The founder, James Stark, moved his family from Kentucky in wagons to the rich soil along the Mississippi River, later to become the State of Missouri. He was the first of six generations of Stark family to carry on the proud tradition of growing top-quality fruit trees.

Stark Brothers introduced the original Red and Golden Delicious apples to the world. When Clarence Stark tasted a red apple at a Stark Brothers Apple Competition in 1893, he exclaimed, "Delicious! That will be its name." It had been entered by an Iowa grower. Then in 1914, a West Virginia mountaineer sent 3 yellow apples to Stark Brothers. Their spicy, distinctive flavor so impressed Paul Stark he traveled by train and then horseback to purchase the sensational new Golden Delicious tree. Descendants of these two discoveries now rank as the #1 and #2 apples in the United States and the world!