Laura Scudder

Life & Legacy

Laura Clough Scudder (July 19, 1881 – March 13, 1959) was a medical nurse, the first female attorney in Ukiah, California, a restaurateur and an entrepreneur and inventor who made and sold potato chips in Monterey Park, California.
Starting by frying hand-sliced potato chips in her home, Scudder pioneered the packaging of potato chips in sealed bags to extend their freshness. Called the "Potato Chip Queen of the West", she grew her business into a multi-million dollar enterprise that covered the west coast of America. By the mid-1950s the company's annual gross sales exceeded $20 million (equivalent to $268 million in 2025).