Our Story
History of the NCCTA
The first Christmas tree marketplace was created in 1851 in New York City, however, it took NC until 1955 to begin growing Fraser Fir seedlings specifically for harvesting. In 1959 5 Avery County growers created NCCTA. In 1964, NC was able to achieve selling one million Christmas trees with a price that averaged 1 dollar per foot. In 1971 the Fraser Fir was selected for the first time to be the White House Christmas tree. The following year over 400,000 Fraser Firs were harvested, but by 1979 1.4 million trees were harvested. In both 1982 & 1984, the NC Fraser Fir was selected to be the White House Tree. Since then the Fraser Fir has been selected 10 times to be showcased in the White House. By 1988 the NC Christmas Tree industry was valued at 55 million dollars and harvested 4.1 million trees every year. In 2006 western Christmas tree growers reduced pesticide use by half and continue to keep pesticide use as low as possible. The NCCTA continues to face challenges of modern production including changes in markets, issues with labor, and increasing complexity.