History of victory lots
The Birchwood neighborhood – long known as the victory garden neighborhood – has an interesting history. During World War I, with so many men away fighting the war, there was a shortage of food, both in the United States and parts of Europe and the Middle East. To increase the local availability of fresh food, people were encouraged to grow food in their yards or on any available land.
The Government Farm (later known as the Washington State Nursery) was established on the site of the present Bellis Fair Shopping Mall.
Our "victory gardens" helped people recover from WWI, get through the Depression, and feed their families during and after WWII.
Now there is a renewed interest in growing our own fresh food, and we even have a garden at Birchwood Elementary School.
The land in much of present Birchwood neighborhood was divided into long narrow lots, to encourage people to grow their own food locally. Since the lots are narrow, the houses are fairly close together, originally with long back yards. There were classes on growing fruits, vegetables, and canning and on how to care for chickens and pigs.
The Tiscornia Truck Farm – previously at the site of the present Bellingham Technical College – grew large quantities of local vegetables. Many of our lots have old chicken houses or a pig shed in the backyard, along with old fruit trees and well-used garden space. The gardens flourished in our wonderful soil.
