'Golden' piece of history to be auctioned in West Virginia

The West Virginia farm where the Golden Delicious apple was first discovered is going up for auction.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail (http://bit.ly/2fXfeXE) reports the 52-acre property near Bomont comes with a three-bedroom ranch home and a roadside marker that notes its place in history.

The marker says the apple was discovered by property owner Anderson Mullins in 1905 along Porters Creek. Mullins sent some of the fruit to Missouri's Stark Brothers Nursery, one of the nation's biggest mail-order nurseries.

The Stark brothers liked it so well that they bought the tree and the rights to reproduce it, selling the new variety as the Golden Delicious apple.

Aside from the historical marker, no trace remains of the famed tree.

The auction, following the death of the most recent owner, will be Saturday.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, http://wvgazettemail.com.