Andrews and Coykendall Ham Company

Summary

Business	Dried Fruit Packer
Main Location	San Jose, CA
Active	1893-1917
Aliases	A. & C. Ham Company

Summary

Former meat wholesaler turned dried fruit packer. A&C Ham (named after the two principals) got excited about dried fruit around the turn of the century, dropped the bacon, and went for the prunes. When Frank Coykendall, the 1917 owner, became the general manager for the newly-formed California Prune and Apricot Growers ("Sunsweet") cooperative, Frank sold A&C Ham to Sunsweet to avoid the conflict of interest.

A&C Ham's 1917-era packing house survived into the modern era on Cinnabar St. next to the SP main line.

Locations

Location	Years	Address	Details
San Jose	1907, 1912	Cinnabar St at Senter Street	Listed as "A
West Side	1900	?	Listed in San Francisco Call 1900 list of delivery spots.

Photos

Dried fruit delivery pre-1900

1917 concrete packing house in the early 1960's.

Sanborn map showing post-1917 packing house

A&C Ham Packing Co. plant, after 1900.

Details

According to list of pioneer families founded as a pork processor in the 1870's by Jonathan B. Coykendall, an immigrant from New York, with his sones Frank E. Coykendall and Horatio G. Coykendall. 1876 city directory shows them as port processors and wholesale provision dealers with storefront at 3rd and San Fernando, and warehouse at Senter and Cinnabar. Plant destroyed by fire in 1903, became primarily fruit packer at some point.

ouse existed in 1884 Sanborn, but not plant.

House existed in 1891 Sanborn p60 (with lots of other houses nearby), but no plant.

Listed as Andrews and Coykendall Ham Co in 1893 city directory Frank Coykendall filed for divorce from wife Alice in 1897 according to February 9, 1897 Sacramento Union - she went back to Chicago.

Frank was known for his "excitable nature" according to

Leonard McKay in San Jose Inside and posted "no looting" signs after earthquake.

1899 and 1902 city directories show store at 90 East San Fernando Street in San Jose.

1900 city directory shows them only in ham and bacon business.

Obit: Feb 8 1904, San Jose Evening News "A few years ago Mr. Coykendall began the manufacture of prune coffee, and this industry was carried on with some success. It was the making of this product of the prune that led him extensively into the handling of prunes, and the Coykendall Prune Company was formed when the ham business was abandoned. This has been carried on by Mr. Coykendall and his two sons, Frank and Horatio, with considerable success, the firm having important connections in France and other foreign countries."

Johnathan died in 1903 , buried at Cypress Lawn . Obituary mentions a fall from a buggy that kept him confined to home.

November 18, 1903 Evening News mentions the fall: it describes him as leader of the firm of J. Coykendall and Son, thrown from buggy at corner of 5th and Santa Clara after horse scared by steam roller. "Mr Coykendall is quite a heavy man and the force of the fall caused a fracture of the thigh bone and several scratches and bruses about the face."

November 30, 1901 San Francisco Call notes that A & C Ham bought leftover prunes from the California Cured Fruit Association, planned to open two warehouses to store the fruit.

August 23, 1902 San Francisco Call noted that A&C Ham added two large buildings to their plant.

1902-1903 letters with F.A. Hihn suggest still operating as grocer / meat packer.

May have packed under "Coykendall and Sons" earlier.

September 17, 1903 San Jose Evening News reports "Armed Men Guard a Fruit Drier: Excited orchardists who want pay for prunes sold to Costa Brothers. There is a lot of prunes at what is known as the Costa drier on the Almaden Road, about three miles south of the city, that are being guarded by arms men. It appears that Louis and George Costa bought prunes from a number of orchardists in the section referred to. They then sold them to Coykendall & Sons, packers of prunes. The Costa Brothers received an advance of $5,000 on the prunes, and the latter were taken possession of by the Coykendalls. The new owners engaged in finishing the drying of the prunes. Then the parties that had sold the prunes to the Costas came around and demanded that they be paid for the prunes, asserting that the Costas had not paid in full for the fruit."

In the same issue: "For Europe: Large Shipments of Prunes from this Valley. The prune crop is short in France, and it is a good thing for that industry in Santa Clara Valley. The firm of J. Coykendall & Sons of this city are preparing a shipment of 200,000 pounds of prunes that are already sold in Antwerp, and are shipped direct from San Jose to the latter point. These prunes are for consumption in Belgium... the Coykendalls have shipped 450,000 pounds of Santa Clara Valley prunes direct to Havre. This fruit is for consumption in France."

References exist to a 1903 fire that destroyed the plant.

1915 city directory shows them on Cinnabar at Senter, and only as a fruit packer.

May 18, 1917 San Jose News article on fire.

San Jose plant destroyed by fire on May 18, 1917 according to June 1917 Western Canner and Packer May 19, 1917 documents planed rebuilding May 26, 1917 California Fruit News notes that their house next door was saved, but the wooden packing house burned. They were in the process of expanding, and the machinery they'd bought from the California Cured Fruit Exchange in Emeryville would be used in the rebuilt plant. Very little fruit was lost, but many sacks, labels, and boxes for shipping the fruit was burned. The plant was not in use at the time.

Must've had something up and running within a couple months. In "July 21, 1917 San Jose Evening News": http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LykiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KqQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2025%2C814783

In list of Sunsweet collection stations listed as "A & C Ham, Cinnabar Street"

Became affiliated with Sunsweet in 1918. Run by H.G. Coykendall and his brother Frank. Coykendall had been the first general manager for Sunsweet.

Sold to Sunsweet in July 1918 acording to

July 27, 1918 California Fruit News partially because Coykendall was a principal for the grower's association.