The Kingdom of Cabbage
How Skagit County became the epicenter of the global cabbage seed industry through a half-century of experimentation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
An industry that has grown from a small beginning nearly 50 years ago, until today it is the largest of its kind in the world, is the growing of cabbage seed in Western Washington. Fully 75 per cent of the cabbage seed grown in the United States is produced in one county in Washington. Along about the year 1878, A. G. Tillinghast, a pioneer seed grower, started growing cabbage seed on his farm on the La Conner Flats, in Skagit County. The reputation of Puget Sound cabbage seed, as the best that can be produced, is known to all the trade wherever seeds are sold. Today the crop of this seed alone amounts to more than 200,000 pounds annually. There are some 200 farms in Skagit County devoted to the growing of this crop, which is largely grown under contract with the Charles H. Lilly Company, Seattle.
“It is said that much of Puget Sound cabbage seed, that finds its way to Europe, later re-enters this country as an imported product.”
The legacy of agricultural specialization in the Skagit Valley remains a cornerstone of regional identity. It highlights the historical shift where 'made in Washington' (or grown here) became a global benchmark for quality, much like our tech or coffee industries today.
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