Swift & Co. was a dairy and poultry plant on the south end of Clay Center that was in operation for decades. It sat just south of Dexter park, around 426 6th St.
With roots back to 1855 in Massachusetts, 16-year-old founder Gustavus Franklin Swift made a living selling cattle. He founded the first Swift & Co. in Chicago in 1875 with refrigerated rail cars. His invention allowed dairy and meat items to travel across state lines.
In 1903 the company struggled to sell its lard after raising prices. Newspapers reported that the brand “had enough to give away.”
By 1905, he was avoiding a U.S. Supreme Court case for controlling the meatpacking industry.
Just over a century later, in 2007, the company was purchased by JBS, which is still in operation today.
The Clay Center Swift plant was opened in 1921 when the building was signed to a 10-year lease. The location was built by the Clay County Produce Company in 1917 and served as its third location in town. The first burned down in 1911.
As the building as underway, a local newspaper said it would be, “one of the finest cold storage and poultry establishments in this section of Kansas.” It was located between the tracks owned by Rock Island and Union Pacific.
In total, the building was 200 by 75 feet and included a basement. A powerhouse of 60 by 35 feet was located to the south, connected by an overhead steel track.
The top floor was intended as a feeding room, big enough for 100,000 chickens. Before equipment, the building cost $60,000 to build. (About $1.5 today.)
By 1940, Swift & Co. employed 60 full-time and 40 part–time workers. They packaged butter, eggs, and poultry, which were shipped across the country.
Farmers up to 150 miles away helped supply the plant with its poultry, dairy, and egg needs.
In 1933, the plant held an open house for local farmers where they held talks. High schoolers performed musical numbers, and the domestic science department prepared refreshments. Baked ham and cheese sandwiches, pickles, ice cream, milk, coffee, and buttermilk were served to 1,350 attendees.
In 1936, a high school freshman class spent two days at the plant learning to dress and package poultry, make butter, and test milk.
The building was later leased for two years as an Army and Navy store.
Currently, the location is GT, formerly Gilmore-Tatge, a company that manufactures grain dryers.
Research by Susan Hammond.
