George Frank and Company
| Business |
Cannery, dried fruit packer |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
San Jose, CA |
| Active |
~1900 - 1919 |
| Successors |
California Prune and Apricot Growers, Smith-Frank Packing Company |
George Frank and Company was a turn-of-the-century dried fruit packer in San Jose, operating from around 1900 to the early 1920's. Frank's earliest plant was on the "west side" (Cupertino) area around 1900, appearing in a list of drop-off sites for the California Cured Fruit Association. Within a couple years, Frank had relocated southwest of downtown San Jose along Meridian Road at Paula St. in a building that likely pre-dated the company. Frank's new plant attracted workers in the 1902 season by having an orchestra play during working hours[1]. A large addition was added in 1903[2].
By 1910, personal issues caused challenges for Frank, with news reports of a [] notes messy divorce and claims for money and the business[3]. The business and land no longer appeared on Meridian Avenue at that time.
Frank's packing house was leased to Sunsweet in 1917, and was sold to the California Prune and Apricot Growers by June 1920. He started a separate company with D. L. Smith, the Smith-Frank Canning Company, after 1917, then sold a cannery to the George N. Herbert Packing Company in 1919, moved to Sacramento and reorganized as the Smith-Frank Packing Company. The new company claimed it would operate canning and dried fruit packing plants at Sacramento and maintain an office in San Jose. The company was still in existence as late as 1922[4].
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento | 1919 | California Canneries: 12th and B Street.[5] | |
| San Jose | 1904, 1906, 1907 | Meridian Road near Paula |
"Meridian cor narrow gauge[6] |
| San Jose | 1917 | Cot Growers Asked By Association to Cull Out All Smut: Alum Rock Ave[7] | |
| West Side | 1900 |
In San Francisco Call list of drop-off locations for California Cured Fruit Assn. |
References
- ↑ Prune Packers Listen to Music, October 16, 1902 San Jose Evening News
- ↑ New Packing Houses Erected In Valley: June 25, 1903 San Jose Evening News
- ↑ Mrs. George Frank Files Four Sensational Suits: July 23, 1910 San Jose Evening News
- ↑ April 8, 1922 California Fruit News advertisement shows plants in Sacramento and San Jose.
- ↑ December 1918 Western Canner and Packer
- ↑ In 1906 San Jose city directory.
- ↑ July 21, 1917 San Jose Evening News list of Sunsweet collection stations.