Four men perched on a tractor at Dominion Seed House. May include owner William Bardley, c. 1940. EHS23318, Esquesing Historical Society. Click on the image for more details.

The seed business was well underway and flourishing in the 1930s, despite the depression taking place. Around this time, it was clear that the seed business would prove more popular than the electric company, and so the Bradley-Edwards Electric Co. was slowly eased out of business.

Expansion continued with the farm foreman’s house built in 1938 and the greenhouses also built during this time period. Additional buildings and expansions were built in 1942 and onwards. Dominion stood apart from other seed companies for a variety of reasons. Their business was based entirely on mail orders, not selling in grocery or hardware stores like most other companies.

They also stood out with the interesting and sometimes unusual seeds that gardeners would have trouble buying elsewhere. In the beginning, most seeds were brought in from Europe, but following World War II, California became one of the most popular places to source from. However, seeds ended up being brought in from everywhere. Bradley was dedicated to finding new plant varieties to grow and often spent his summers travelling with his wife to seek out new offerings. The effort paid off, as Dominion made connections with farmers and plant breeders around the world.

Flowering fields at the Dominion Seed House, c. 1947. EHS23346, Esquesing Historical Society. Click on the image for more details.

Dominion's catalogues also helped the company earn quite a reputation. Although the catalogues themselves were nothing new as a way of marketing and taking orders, Dominion’s catalogue acted as their only salesperson. The main catalogue would go out in January of each year, marking the beginning of busy season. The seed catalogues and their contents were likened to science fiction because of the uncommon plant varieties that Dominion brought in.

To see how the catalogues changed over the years, click here to view the catalogue gallery

Descriptions of seeds were written by the general manager, Vannatter, and other employees which added a personal touch. This was another contributor to the seed house’s success: they cared about their customers. During peak times, the company would receive between seventy-five and one hundred letters a day from customers. All orders were filled, checked and wrapped by hand. The quality of seeds was also tested continually to ensure only the best were being sold.