The Beet Sugar Gamble
Ezra Meeker rallies Seattle to show the world that Washington Territory could become a global leader in sugar production, despite lacking funds.
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Commissioner Meeker writes: 'What a splendid opportunity to bring our beet sugar scheme before the world! Mr. Alvord will donate the beets, Capt. Crow or some other captain running a boat up the Sound will transport them to Seattle; Capt. Tibbals will surely take them to San Francisco free; Mr. Dyer will make them into sugar; and so down to New Orleans shall go ten tons of beets, back shall come a ton of pure white sugar, the product of ten tons of Washington Territory hands. That shall go to New Orleans, and thence, in ten thousand fine sacks, go into the hands of ten thousand investigating persons, to whom we can say and tell the truth, happening that [sugar] can be made at a cost of less than four cents a pound, and cheaper than it can be made elsewhere from the cane; and yet we need not draw heavily upon the two thousand dollar fund at all.'
“What a splendid opportunity to bring our beet sugar scheme before the world!”
Long before he was the famous pioneer known for his Oregon Trail preservation, Ezra Meeker was a savvy agricultural entrepreneur. His drive to prove Washington's economic viability through innovative, cross-industry supply chains echoes the spirit of modern Seattle tech and trade efforts to place the region on the global map.
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