Growers' Pre-cooling Company
| Business |
Cold storage plant |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
Mountain View, CA |
Growers' Pre-cooling Company was a Mountain View-based cold-storage plant and pre-cooling facility handling fresh fruit. Pre-cooling plants lowered the temperature of fruits and vegetables from the fields so that less ice would be needed to keep the crop cool and fresh when shipping to the east coast. The plant was first put into operation in 1922[1]; it had a 450 foot spur track off the Southern Pacific main line, cooling chambers, ice-making machinery, and handling sheds[2]. B. W. Holeman of Mountain View was president, Ralph L. Snell, vice-president, W. P. Angelo treasurer, and Victor Stanquist, secretary. J. A. Williams of Mountain View was the manager.
Stanquist was a cement contractor in san Francisco who became a local orchardist[3].
A 1922 news article notes that the plant was "inaugurated by the Mountain View Berry Growers' Association" and was operating on apricots and other fruit[4]. "A car of strawberries has been pre-cooled and shipped practically every day since it was opened on May 15, last"[5] A San Jose Evening News article on the plant[6] notes that it was being used by the Robert Romer Co. of San Francisco to ship lettuce and spinach for eastern markets. Cherries, apricots, peaches, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables would be packed. Steinhardt and Kelly Co. were leasing the market for five years "and expects to do business here permanently." (Steinhardt and Kelley also worked with the Security Warehouse and Cold Storage plant in San Jose[7]. American Fruit Growers of Delaware and Los Angeles was another potential user. By July 1923, apricot growers were receiving $50/ton for their crop; the plant expected to ship 50 carloads in the 1923 season[8]. Those same apricots sold for 5 cents each in New York[9].
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View | 1923 |
References
- ↑ Coast News In Brief: California Fruit News, July 29, 1922.
- ↑ Pre-cooling Opens Up New Vistas of Fruit Prosperity: San Jose Evening News, May 31, 1923.
- ↑ Victor Stanquist: in Eugene Sawyer, History of Santa Clara County, California, 1922, Historic Record Co., pg 1196.
- ↑ Santa Clara Fresh Apricots to the East: July 8, 1922 Pacific Rural Press.
- ↑ Refrigeration Highly Developed: Express Gazette Journal, July 1922.
- ↑ Pre-cooling Opens Up New Vistas of Fruit Prosperity: San Jose Evening News, May 31, 1923.
- ↑ Pre-cooled Cots Bring Good Prices: San Jose Evening News, July 21, 1923
- ↑ Pre-cooled Cots Bring Good Prices: San Jose Evening News, July 21, 1923
- ↑ Apricots Sell High in New York City: San Jose Evening News, July 21, 1923