Hadley Fruit Orchards was founded by Paul and Peggy Hadley in 1931 in Banning, California. Their neighbors were the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. According to the members of the Morongo Tribe, Paul Hadley often provided tribal members with fruit and dates, fostering a rapport with Hadley Fruit Orchards that remains to this day.

The Hadley Fruit Orchards fruit and nut business prospered until 1951 when a fire burned down their warehouse, wiping out $70,000 in inventory and 20 years of hard work. Underinsured but determined to recover, the couple began selling their products from a roadside stand. To attract customers to the remote location, Paul bought slabs of lumber, painted signs in bright colors, and set out to find neighbors and other property owners along the highway who would allow him to put up his homemade billboards.

Thanks to the high quality of their merchandise, Paul and Peggy added natural fruit, butters and jams, cereals and grains, fresh baked goods, and their own selection of wine from organically grown grapes. When Paul became dissatisfied with the quality of dates he could buy, he purchased five date orchards and grew his own. Commercially made cereals didn't meet his high standards, so he bought his own puffed grain operation. When he couldn't buy enough honey from local honey houses, he built his own. By the 1970's, Paul estimated that he sold a ton of honey every day.