Mountain View Fruit Exchange
| Business |
Dried Fruit Packer |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
Mountain View |
| Active |
1903-1909 |
| Successors |
Mountain View Packing Company |
Mountain View dried fruit packer, founded in 1903, and dissolved by 1909. Incorporated May 18, 1903 with $75,000 in capital. Officers in 1906 at time of Great 1906 Earthquake were M. Farrell (president), Z.T. Croop, VP, F.A. Poland, Secretary, C. Jesse Titus, treasurer, with H. Morton, J. J. Cutter, and Joseph F. Fritts as directors. The Mountain View Fruit Exchange was short-lived, with its corporation charter forfeited by 1909.
Mountain View Fruit Exchange's building was a former grain warehouse. An 1897 Sanborn map shows the site as Mrs. S. E. Bubb's Grain Warehouse (vacant). By 1904, the Sanborn map shows a low warehouse only with a dryer in one corner. The building was levelled by 1906 earthquake, but rebuilt in 4 months according to Mountain View Arcadia book. The new building was a three story packing house, with grading on the 3rd floor, box making and storage on second, and packing on first. There was a separate sulfur house, and separate "facing" room (ground floor, better light?).
After the Exchange collapsed, the plant was used by the Mountain View Packing Company, which became Sunsweet's plant #8.
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View | 1903-1909 | end of Oak Street east of Bailey Road |
On Sanborn map. 1904, 1908. |
Details
Mention in Pullman Herald March 19 1920 (citing Mountain View Register Leader) about a company in Mountain View that sold the worst prunes:
"A firm of this sort of packers had the Old Mountain View packing house along about that time on a lease. They bought up prunes whereever they could get them cheap enough, and packed them out of here under the name of "Santa Clara County Prunes". They did more to damage the name of Santa Clara County fruit and spoil the market for it t than all causes combined had ever been able to do to benefit it. They were unscrupulous and unfair in their dealings with the growers, and never hesitated to take advantage of them whenever opportunity offered."