From 1945 to 1963, in response to a shortage of local and in-state agricultural workers, the Hedeen Orchard relied on Mexican and Tejano migrant workers to serve as cherry pickers for three to six weeks each summer. During this period, about 700 Door County growers tended over one million cherry trees with a combined production of up to 50 million pounds of cherries each season, making Door County the third largest producer of tart red cherries in the United States.

The Hedeen Orchard’s dependence on Mexican and Tejano migrant workers during this period demonstrates the crucial role these men, women, and children played throughout Door County’s cherry industry. In addition to its 40 acres of former orchard land, the property retains eleven historic resources that relate to its historic function as a cherry orchard that utilized migrant labor. Among these resources are buildings that housed migrant workers each summer, including a small cottage that housed up to four families and a barn that was converted for use as additional migrant housing.

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