A Bumper Crop at the Skagit County Fair
From 35-pound mangelwurzels to six-foot-tall oats, Skagit County farmers showcased the agricultural bounty of the region in 1898.
The attendance at the Skagit County fair was good for three days in succession and the fair was a success. Skagit County did its best and everybody was well pleased. The agricultural department was well represented; all fruit and vegetables on exhibit were raised in the county. There were two samples of oats, the straw nearly six feet tall, taken from a field that yielded 103 bushels to the acre. The vegetable exhibit was excellent, featuring onions averaging one pound apiece and a monster mangelwurzel weighing 35 pounds. Fifteen varieties of squashes were shown, some weighing 60 pounds each. The exhibition of poultry was a great success, with 134 birds on display. All premiums were paid three days after the fair, and the secretary stated that after paying all expenses, they would have a capital of nearly $300 in the treasury for the next year.
“There were two samples of oats, the straw nearly six feet tall, which were taken from a field that yielded 103 bushels to the acre.”
Agricultural fairs remain a cornerstone of community identity in Washington, though the scale of production has shifted from small-scale homestead diversity to industrial-scale operations. The pride in local yield and the financial stability of the fair board echo the ongoing efforts of modern county fairs to remain self-sustaining in a changing economy.
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