Seeds and Shakers Behind a Century of Seed Giants
Shaker founder Mother Ann Lee's celibacy shaped a culture that birthed 19th century seed science, leading to the Cambridge Asgrow plant. H. Niles Rice started Cambridge seed business in 1832, later expanding under Asgrow after 1939 near bankruptcy. Today the facility employs 60 to 120 seasonal workers, shipping millions of seed packets to the Atlantic seaboard, with a 20 member sales team.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atlantic Seaboard
Cambridge
Salem
H. Niles Rice
Jerome H. Rice
Asgrow
Shakers shaped Asgrow seeds and plant legacy in Cambridge
Cambridge seed history shows Asgrow tracing Shaker methods from 1811 and early seed trade to modern packaging. The Shaker craft, peddling, and commission box influenced growth, even as mechanization and population limits shrank their colonies. Asgrow remains tied to Shaker past with seed packets printed in Massachusetts and distribution across the nation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mount Tah Watarvnlet
L. L. Brown
Fitchburg
Mass
Brown
Asgrow
Germany
White
Old Chatham
Charles Crosman
Rochester
Mount Lebanon
New York
Massachusetts
California
Idaho
Also Mentioned on This Page
By Sumner Kean
Cambridge, N.Y
Ann Lee
Mother Ann Lee
Associated Seed Growers of America
Lonesome Pole
Jane Smith
Lyman N. White
Wesleyan
D. M. Ferry
C. C. Morse
Ferry - Morse Seed Co
Algrow
Shaker
England
Albany
N.Y
Watervliet
Hancock
Tyringham
Savoy
Asgrow Company
Lyman N White
Pearl Gates
Cecia Wilson
Arlene Dannenberg
Joan Snow
Lebanon
Cambridge Valley
Ingemar Liljeberg
Finland
New York State
Excelsior
North Adams
Parcel Post
United Parcel Service
America
Shakers
Photos By
Kelton Miller
Harvard
Colony
Fiske Warren
Henry George
Pat Langlois
Edna Truehart
Peter Mekune
Pr'e
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!