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Swift and Company records

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS 99

Overview

The collection contains a few scattered records, photographs, and memorabilia of Swift & Company of St. Joseph, Missouri, a meatpacking company of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Dates

  • Creation: 1897 - 1970

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Administrative History of Swift & Co.

Swift & Co. began operations in St. Joseph in 1897. Initial operations were begun in an old hog processing plant, but new facilities were under way that same year. The new plant was one of the most modern for the time and was operated entirely on electricity. Swift & Co. grew with St. Joseph. Thus, Swift was instrumental in making the St. Joseph Livestock Market the sixth largest in the United States by 1962.

Drastic cutbacks in the meat packing industry in St. Joseph in the 1960s reflect the trend of the industry to phase out old plants and construct new, automated facilities closer to where livestock is raised. As a result of this, Swift announced plans to close the plant in 1970. The last year of the plant operation, it employed 950 workers and 600 at the time of the closing.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet (1 document case containing 309 items + 4 volumes) ; Volumes vary in size; none measure taller than 30 cm.

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Records are arranged chronologically and by format. Volumes have been physically separated from the papers and photographs.

Physical Location

RH MS 99

Physical Location

RH MS D172

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, Swift & Co, H. C. Dummann, November 23, 1970.

Title
Guide to the Swift & Company Collection
Subtitle
Swift and Company records
Author
Finding aid prepared by pg, August 1976. Finding aid encoded by mg, 2004. Finding aid revised by mwh, 2020.
Date
2004
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/7474402777
Preferred citation
Swift & Company records, Kansas Collection, RH MS 99, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334