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PHOTO: BERRIEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY


The Coloma Pickle Factory in Coloma, Michigan, is typical of a pickle operation during the turn of the last century. The two fore- ground tanks were used for brining the cucumbers. The water tank was there for fresh water. The small building below probably had a stove to heat the water needed to prepare the pickles for packing. The operation most likely had a vinegar generator or re-


ceived vinegar in barrels. It appears that the tops of the tanks have been removed, probably in preparation for the start of pickling. It is hard to see, but glass jars are stacked up by the wall of the large building and on the side of the small structure. The large building held more salting tanks, as well as tanks for curing the pickles. This plant was serviced by the Chicago & West Michigan R.R.


The pickle industry and railroading


Boxcars, reefers and, yes, pickle cars served this business/David J. Leider W 82


hen people think of pickles, the H. J. Heinz Company is one of the first to come to mind.


Although not the first packer, H. J. Heinz became the dominant player in the industry. Headquartered in Pitts- burgh, they had plants all over the na- tion. However, in the beginning Chicago was the center of the pickle industry, and the railroads played an increasingly important role as the business grew. Whether you model a rural or urban area in the region, a pickle salting sta- tion or processing plant can be added for both in and out bound loads. This article focuses on one of the Chicago-based companies as an exam-


ple of how the industry worked. There were, of course, several others.


Establishing the industry In 1856, 38-year old Squire Dingee (rhymes with dinghy) arrived in Wilmette, Illinois, prodded by his uncle Henry. There was good farmland to be had in this lakefront town 14 miles north of Chicago, and Squire and his brother Samuel purchased several hun- dred acres near the present-day North Shore Channel. They formed a partner- ship, S. Dingee and Brother, to grow vegetables which they sold in nearby Evanston. The supply of cucumbers ex- ceeded the demand and they salted


some, packing them in barrels and stor- ing them under the veranda of their home. Their pickles met with such suc- cess that they established a pickle pack- ing plant in adjacent Evanston called the Northwestern Pickle and Vinegar Works. To supply their needs, Squire purchased a plot of land in the nearby Rose Hill section of Chicago. The area attracted immigrants, and many who settled there started truck farms and, later, greenhouses. Squire formed the Squire Dingee Company in 1880. At that time it was the largest packer in the Midwest. In 1881, the Rose Hill farm supplied 80,000 bushels, and one in nearby


DECEMBER 2011


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