At times, an old photograph piques my interest and prompts me to learn more about a subject. This was the case when I viewed a vivid photo taken in the early 1920s and published in the Holyoke Transcript. The subject was Morris & Company, a meatpacking plant operating at 24-26 Main Street. This led to writings about its connection with F. C. Steele & Company in the preceding chapter and about Armour & Company, which will be discussed in the chapter to follow.
In October 1892, the Nelson, Morris & Company, a Chicago-based national meatpacker, closed on a 5-year lease at 24-26 Main Street, a structure known as the Nightingale Building, constructed in 1884-1885. The building was the home to George Nightingale, a paper stock dealer.
In the 1903 operating year, Nelson, Morris & Company, later known as Morris & Company, was one of the six largest meat-processing companies in the United States. The Holyoke concern was one of its branches. Armour & Co., Swift & Co., Cudahy Packing Co., National Packing Co., and Schwarzschild & Sulzberger Co. were the other five.
In 1923, Armour & Co. acquired the assets of Morris & Co. in a consolidation. The newly combined business would have assets of $550,000,000.
Insofar as meatpacking, the 24-26 Main Street facility was not out of the picture. More details will be revealed in the chapter to follow, the story of Armour & Co. in Holyoke.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
