Virden Packing

Summary

Business	Cannery
Main Location	San Francisco
Active	1919-1930
Predecessors	Western Canning, Salsina Packing and Canning Company, United Canneries of Oakland.

The Virden Packing Company was a meat and fruit canner and fruit packer with origins in Sacramento but eventually headquartered in San Francisco. The company had major stockyards in South San Francisco (next to Swift) and supposedly Sacramento. The Virden Company was incorporated in 1919. They bought several canneries in the next two years. Virden bought Western Canning in Emeryville in May 1921 from chinese interests. They then bought United Canneries of Oakland at the foot of 9th Street in 1922, according to February 1922 Canning Age The United Canneries plant had cost $500,000 to build, and had a capacity of 400,000 cases. "H.L. Lafler, industrial engineer, undertook the transfer." Virden also bought the then-idle Salsina_Packing_and_Canning_Company on Lincoln Ave. in San Jose, hoping to use it for fruit and meat canning. There were also signs that Virden owned Pioneer Fruit Company in 1920's according to lawsuit from Zellerbach Paper going after Virden for unpaid bills. Virden also canned olives for the California Olive Growers Association according to Pacific Rural Press, Oct. 15, 1921. Western Canner and Packer similarly mentioned that they'd be handling the entire pack for the association through the Emeryville and Tulare canneries.

The company also planned a cannery in Sutter or Yuba County according to November 1921 Canning Age. The area had been shipping 2000 carloads of fruit to San Jose in previous years. The Marysville cannery opeed in July 1922 according to Western Canner and Packer

An ad in the May 1922 Western Canner and Packer described themselves as "A New California Packer". Supposedly, peaches was one of their specialties. Both meat and fruit were canned under the Campfire brand.

The company appeared to hit a hard patch in the mid 1920's, and ended up selling off the various canneries. Balfour Guthrie took option to buy packing plants in May 1926 . - Marysville, San Jose, Elmhurst, Fruitvale, and Emeryville. The Salsina plant supposedly went to Balfour Guthrie. The Marysville plant was listed as Balfour Guthrie on 1932 Sanborn. The Emeryville plant was sold to Del Monte in 1927. Virden's meat packing houses in Sacramento and South San Francisco were kept, but several lawsuits in the 1930's claimed that Virden didn't build all the meat packing businesses that they said when they issued stock. Virden's meat packing houses in South San Francisco and perhaps elsewhere were sold in May 1935 to Armour.

Charles Virden, the founder, had been general manager of California Fruit Distributors for several years at Sacramento. National Provisioner magazine of 1922 wrote about the annual meeting, and stated that the company was based in San Francisco but Charles E. Virden was from Sacramento. Virden moved to San Francisco in 1921 according to Western Canner and Packer

Two other early employees - Lanev and Mullen - were part of Berkeley's Sunlit Fruit Company which had been absorbed by the California Packing Corporation.

One possible story is that Virden picked up cheap canneries during the great bust after World War I, but wasn't able to earn enough to cover the debt as prices stayed poor through the 1920's.

Locations

Location	Years	Address	Details
Elmhurst	1922, 1926	Foot of 85th Street.
Emeryville	1919, 1922, 1926, 1927	Park Ave
Fruitvale	1925, 1926, 1927	1100 29th Street	Became Del Monte.
Lindsay	1922, 1926
Marysville	1922, 1926	520 Olive Street	Still exists.
Oroville	1922, 1926		Used by Hearst to pack 1926 crop of peaches.
Sacramento	1922
San Francisco	1922
San Jose	1926, 1928, 1932	868 Auzerais Street
South San Francisco	1932

Photos

San Jose plant plan

Details

Western Canner and Packer had 1921 article on company's marketing.

Comments on car shortages: http://books.google.com/books?id=369CAQAAIAAJ&lpg=PA663&ots=bDhsBwPkYy&dq=%22charles%20e.%20virden%22%20virden%20packing&pg=PA663#v=onepage&q&f=false Bought Salsini Canning and Packing plant at Lincoln Ave and Auzerais st. in 1921 for $250,000. Intended for packing of local meat, would have cold storage space. ( Western Canner and Packer ). Wholesale Grocery Review says that 8,000 tons of fruit will be canned there.

1922 locations from August 1922 Western Canner and Packer ad.

Emeryville plant Bought from Western Canning in 1919. Torn down,,now site of Pixar.