A Tolt Farmer Grows Tobacco Good Enough for Eastern Cigar Wrappers
Charles Nelson's tobacco samples from Tolt draw flattering reports from Eastern houses, with buyers calling it the finest wrapper leaf grown in the United States.
Charles Nelson, who successfully raised tobacco at Tolt, has received very flattering reports from Eastern houses to which he sent samples of his tobacco suitable for wrappers. Mr. Nelson understands thoroughly raising tobacco and does what very few who have tried this crop have done so far as we can learn. He puts leaves of even size in his hands, and packs in proper-sized cases. He makes his hands of size and does not put in pole-burned leaves. Mr. Nelson is assured that the Eastern houses will take all he can raise of the quality submitted, and the pleasant compliment is paid that the quality submitted is the finest for wrapper grown in the United States.
“The pleasant compliment is paid that the quality submitted is the finest for wrapper grown in the United States.”
Tobacco never became a major Washington crop, but the 1895 experiment in Tolt—now Carnation—shows how vigorously Puget Sound settlers tested new crops. The praise from Eastern buyers is a reminder that global markets reached even small Snoqualmie Valley farms.
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