Celebrating Their 120th Anniversary

Pulaski Rd., Northport, 631-261-1980
We are located 2 1/2 miles east of Larkfield Road, just over the concrete Bridge on the north side
of Pulaski Road and 1.3 miles west of sunken Meadow Pkwy. on Pulaski Rd.

Pictured left to right owners Louis, Andy & LJ

Not many businesses can proudly say they’ve been around for 120 years. Richters Orchard of Northport is an exception! They are known to grow and sell some of the best appes imaginable: Macoun, Snap Dragon, Cameos, Empire, Granny Smiths and many more! But, that’s not all Richters Orchard has to offer. Come the right season, you’ll find: peaches, pears, homemade cider, jams and jellies, plus a number of other delicious baked goods.
The story begins when Frederick W. Richter came to America around 1871. After having worked nearly 29 years in the confectionary business, it wasn’t until he moved to Northport that he decided to fulfill his lifelong dream of planting an apple orchard. Even then, the sunny slopes of Long Island’s North Shore were widely known for having ideal soil, drainage and exposure—making it helpful to produce the highest quality and flavored fruit.
Just as the orchard had grown to be the first modern, commercial apple orchard on Long Island, someone else had come to work for Mr. Richter in 1934. That someone was a guy by the name of, Lou Amsler, who had recently graduated from Farmingdale Agricultural College. Demonstrating his strong passion, within three short years of working on the Orchard, Amsler had chosen to lease the land from Mr. Richter and operate it fully on his own.
Following that, Amsler had gone off to World War II to serve in the Navy Seabees of the South Pacific for three and a half years. When he returned home in 1946, he married and started a family.  Then, upon the sad passing of Mr. Richter, he had purchased the orchard and cider mill for his wife and three sons.  However, to honor and let the memory of Mr. Richter live on, they continued to operate under the same name, “Richters Orchard.”
Meanwhile, in the blink of an eye, Amsler’s two sons, Lou Jr. and Andy, were following in his same footsteps—graduating from Cornell University College of Agriculture. So, since it had come as a natural passion for Lou Jr. and Andy, when their parents were ready to retire, they took over Richters Orchard.
On the other hand, as everything on Long Island had been changing over the years, Richters Orchard had not. The same barn and house that were built back in 1900 by Mr. Richter,  are still home to the Amsler children today. From pruning in the winter to thinning in the spring, the technique and overall quality of fruit still remain 120 years later.