Hunt Brothers Packing Company

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Summary
Business

Cannery
Hunt Brothers Packing Company, Los Gatos, early 20th Century

Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company was an early California canner. The company has changed ownership several times, but continues to exist as a modern-day brand.

Hunt Brothers was started by W. C. Hunt and Joseph H. Hunt[1]. Joseph Hunt started canning in Sebastopol, California in 1888, packing 1,500 cases of fruit in the first season. His brother joined him soon after, and they moved the cannery to Santa Rosa and organized the Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company to both can and dry fruit. In 1896, the brothers sold the Santa Clara business, and incorporated a new Hunt Brothers Company with a new cannery in Hayward, California. After the death of W. C., Joseph Hunt continued the business. By 1902, the company was producing 240,000 cases of canned goods a year.

The company expanded after the turn of the century, building a new cannery at Antioch in 1905, and buying the Los Gatos Canneries in 1906. The company expanded with the purchase of San Jose's venerable Golden Gate Cannery in 1918.

In March 1918, Joseph H. Hunt sold his interest in the company to Julius Landsberger[2][3][4]. At the time of the sale, Western Canner and Packer declared it was the third-largest fruit-packing business on the west coast, with plants in San Jose, Los Gatos, Exeter, Salem, and Hayward. Landsberger had already been active in the canning business, and owned patents for canning jars. Emil H. Nielsen was listed as a first vice-president in 1920; he had also been president of the Golden State Asparagus Company, and manager of Oakland Preserving Company in 1895[5].

In March, 1922, Landsberger sold his controlling share to the other directors including Gustav H. Bradt, a former Hunts employee associated with a Chicago grocery wholesaler. Bradt declared that the company intended to focus less on Hunts' own product and do more private label supplies for other retailers[6].

Hunts was bought by Norton Simon in the early 1940's and became part of his Val Vita Foods conglamerate in the 1940's, which soon changed its name to Hunt Foods. Simon also acquired Wesson in the early 1950's, and renamed the company Hunt-Wesson. The conglomerate was bought by Beatrice, then a private investment group, and finally by ConAgra in the 1980's. Hunts still exists as a modern-day brand.

Hunts in Hayward

Hayward packed cherries, peaches, apricots, eventually tomatoes. The cannery was huge, with its own glass manufacturing plant and can making plant. The February 1923 Western Canner and Packer said that 600,000 cases expected to be packed in 1923, and that the plant should be in operation from March to November.

Hunts in Los Gatos

Hunt Brothers Packing Company bought the Los Gatos Fruit Packing Company from George Hook in 1906, and used the plant for canning fruit, both produced locally and elsewhere.

In the 1927 season, Manager W. F. Gasman started canning apricots in early July. The cannery required 350 workers, filling the cannery's 55 cottages and 15 tent houses[7].

In the 1928 season, Hunts produced 582,000 pounds of apricots, 12,000 pounds of plums, 1.3 million pounds of pears, and 6 million pounds of peaches[8]. In the 1930 season, the manager E. K. Sullivan oversaw apricots and peaches, with four railroad cars of tuscan peaches arriving in mid-July for canning.[9].

All the fruit and sugar tempted the local bees into the cannery in the 1922 season[10].

Hunts closed the Los Gatos cannery in the late 1920's and early 1930's, and apparently only used the building as a warehouse. Hunts sold the cannery in September 1942 to W. J. Gould of Los Angeles[11]. The cannery was then sold to Seagrams distilling interests on May 11, 1943 after their purchase of the Paul Masson properties[12]. The cannery had not been in operation at that point for ten years. 13,000 sq ft of 70Ksq ft were already leased by Louis Devich in 1943 in hopes of canning.

Some of the Los Gatos cannery fire prevention equipment went to Sunsweet in 1944[13].

Locations

Location Years Address Details
Campbell 1946- Harrison Ave. Former Drew Cannery.
Davis 1963-1999
Exeter 1921 "Near Kirk Hotel"[14].
Hayward 1891-1981 A, B, C street at railroad tracks
Los Gatos 1907-1930 Santa Cruz Avenue at Highway 9 Former Hooke / Los Gatos Canneries, purchased 1906.
Salem 1914-1956 Front Street[15] Construction described in 1921 Canning Age[16].
San Francisco 1918 112 Market Street From Julius Landsberger's draft card.
San Jose 1918, 1922, 1936, 1940 361 North Fourth Street Former Golden Gate Packing Co, purchased 1918.

Photos

Hunt Brothers Cannery, Los Gatos Museums of Los Gatos

Hunts Cannery, Los Gatos, 1930

Hunts cannery loading dock

Hunts Cannery, Los Gatos, 1930

Details

Exeter cannery closed during 1921 according to November 1921 Canning Age 1922: 600,000 cases expected to be packed at Hayward, 60,000 of spinach when season opens in March. Plant will be active March-November.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Biography of Joseph H. Hunt: History of the New California Its Resources and People, Lewis Publishing Company, 1905.
  2. ↑ Hunt Brothers Rumor: March 3, 1918 San Francisco Chronicle. "Hunt Bros Rumor Negotiations for the sale of a considerable block of the stock of Hunt Brothers Company to Julius A Landsberger are In progress. It Is understood that Landsberger will acquire the majority of the Joseph Hunt holdings. Hunt Brothers Company Is one of the oldest fruit canning establishments In the city with offices at 112 Market street. C H Bradt, one of the owners, said yeaterday that no radical change was contemplated In the management of the business but that the announcement of the Landsberger purchase probably would be made some time this week."
  3. ↑ Change in Cannery Co.: March 16, 1918 Weekly Commercial News. "Joseph H. Hunt… has disposed of his controlling interest in the corporation… a reorganization of the personnel and management has already followed the withdrawal of Hunt.
  4. ↑ Hunt Brothers Packing Company: Walkers Manual of California Securities and Directory of Directors. Hunt Brothers Packing Co. was organized March 8, 1919 to take over the business of Hunt Brothers Company.
  5. ↑ Oakland Preserving Company: George Caldwood, Oakland: Athens of the Pacific", 1897, Oakland Board of Trade.
  6. ↑ Further Expansion of Hunt Brothers Packing Company. February 1923 Western Canner and Packer
  7. ↑ Los Gatos Starts Apricot Canning in Coming Week: June 30, 1927 San Jose Evening News.
  8. ↑ [apricots article
  9. ↑ article
  10. ↑ Canners Vexed by Problem of Swarm of bees: July 14, 1922 San Jose Evening News
  11. ↑ Cannery Property at Los Gatos Sold for $40,000: September 23, 1942 San Jose Evening News
  12. ↑ Hunt Bros. Cannery Sale Completed: May 11, 1943 San Jose Evening News.
  13. ↑ San Jose Fire Museum hose reel
  14. ↑ City of Exeter Historic Photos.
  15. ↑ Salem's Canneries: www.salemhistory.net. "When the Hunt Brothers Packing Company built a cannery on the river at the foot of Division Street in 1914, the Fruit Union sold their canning line to the latter...
  16. ↑ 1921 Canning Age
  17. ↑ Northern California Canneries: March 1923 Western Canner and Packer.
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