Early Wakefield was first brought to Jersey City from England in 1840. Quickly renamed "Early Jersey Wakefield," this compact two-to-four pound cabbage started appearing in American seed catalogs around 1872. Its rise to fame was, in fact, faster and bigger than Bruce's. By 1888 it was the most popular early cabbage in American gardens. In 1895, Peter Henderson gave it a rare New York-New Jersey compliment calling it the "best early cabbage in cultivation." In 1901, 166 seed companies carried this variety. Unlike the disappearances of many previously popular rock stars and heirloom vegetables, Bruce can still sell out a stadium and the USDA still lists EJW among the principal varieties of American cabbage.
