Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-01-01
Cattle, Hogs and Sheep and Thousands
of Car Loads of Grain of All Kinds Are
Annually Dsp osed Of


1t was in the spring Of 1884 that
small party of Omaha business men drove
TO a point about four miles south of the
Omaha postofiice. Omaha was not then
what IT is now, and when they arrived at
their destination they were a long dis
lance out in the country and way beyond
the outskirts of the city. Their objective
point was the Drexel farm. which they had
purchased, together with some adjoining
lands After driving over the ground and
noting its lay, the engineer and surveyors
were told where they should lay out stock
yards and where they should set stakes,
indicating the streets and lots of a future
city. Prominent among the men who re-
solved to convert a farm into a live stock
market and build up a thriving city in
COW pasture were w. A. Paxton, Frank
Murphy, P. E. Her ]. A. Mcshane,
Thomas Swobe and Alexander II. Swan.
1t was only August of the same year, 1884,
that the yards were declared opened tor
business, so rapidly had the work been
pushed forward. The Drexel farm house
was made to serve as an exchange building.
John Eoyd, as manager, and Colonel ]. c.
Sharp. as secretary, OF the Stock Yards
company, had the kitchen for an office and
kept their books and papers on the pantry
shelves. The two or three commission
firms that had the courage to start in at
the beginning were located in the parlor
and sleeping rooms. That was the begin
ming CT the present Exchange building, with
its hundred or more commodious Offices
accommodating not only the commission
firms. but the various railroad companies
packing companies, newspapers and many
other allied interests
Coming of the Packers.
The G.. III. Hammond company was the
first packing company to arrive the
scene. 1t leased and later bought and
greatly enlarged the plant constructed by
the stock yards company during the sum-
mer OF 1884. AS soon as the first packing
house was opened the country responded
with greatly increased receipts of live
stock
Among the far-seelng ones in the pro-
vision and packing business at that time
were the Fowler Bros, who at once recog-
nized the possibilities at Omaha. During
the following year they constructed house
for the packing of hogs. which was opened
for business in November. 1885, under the
name of the Anglo-American Provision
company. In 1888 the Anglo-Amercan COM
pany was reorganized and became the
Omaha Packing company.
Then came Sir Thomas j. Upton, the
greatest provision dealer and merchant of
the British isles. who had in mind the maxi
ing of English bacon when he opened his
house. but II soon became apparent that the
farmers in this land of bountiful corn crops
would not sell their hogs while light enough
in weight to make good bacon. Hence the
house was a failure as regards the pur-
pose It's builder had In mind and he soon
ne -AlI AL.
pany being the purchaser. The coming of
the Automatically people was a great help
TO the market, the cattle receipts jumping
from 1855 in 1886 to 615, SS7 in 1890, and hog
receipts from the million point in 1887 to
million and three-quarters in 1890 The
partnership between the owners OF the
house was dissolved in 1890 and It became
known the Cudahy Packing company
The Cudahys continued the policy of ex-
pansion and enlargement which has not
ceased to this day.
In 1887 ground was broken by Swift
and Company, the first of the group Of
buildings comprising their plant being con-
structed that same year.
During the next ten years the history of
the live stock market is one series of
packing house engagements made neces-
sary by increased receipts of stock. There
was. however. feeling that packing
center live stock market could be COM
plete without Armour e. Co., and in 1897
the construction OF the long hoped for
plant was begun and pushed rapidly to
completion. The same year the receipts
OF cattle went above the 10000 point,
while hogs exceeded 1900, 900 head the year
following.
stock Yards Growth.
While packing houses are absolutely es-
sential TO the building of a market. they
do not comprise 1t all. 1t remained for the
stock yards company to provide the facili-
ties for the receipt and the care of mil
lions OF head of cattle, hogs and sheep.
The original yards, laid out, could ac-
commodate only few cars of cattle. and
they had to be extended rapidly to keep
up with the growth of the business. Side
tracks. loading and unloading chutes had
TO be provided for the handling of 400 or
800 cars OF stock in the course of the few
hours available for that purpose each
morning before the opening of the market
Acres OF ground had to be covered with
sheds for the protection OF hogs from the
sun and storms. That the stock might
not mire In the mud I'm wet wether the
vast extent OF pens and sheds had TO be
covered with planking or paved with brick
Water had to be conve. ID to every per
vided. Covered viaducts, leading across
the yards and to the different packing
houses, involving expensive bridge work
were made. Then came the construction o.
a great sheep barn. the largest and bes
in the whole country. covering lS5. 90
square feet. and capable OF sheltering 80.
600 animals Under the same roof arr
scales. sorting pens, feed station, anC
everything necessary to the rapid transac
ton of business. the whole building pave,
with vitrhed brick. All these improve
ments took time and vast capital. tina
even the original projectors of the schem
could not have anticipated with all thei
foresight Still only a small portion of tn
improvements have been can be men
toned within the space OF a short news
paper article. There are scale houses
dipping watts. quarantine pens, large an
costly brick barns for the accommodates
OF horses shipped In for sale, well a
barns and sheds for the use of importer
and dealers in blooded stock. There
also of the largest and finest pavil
ions In the entire country for the sale O
fine stock.