SAINT PAUL UNION STOCKYARDS COMPANY:

The Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company was incorporated in 1886 for the primary purpose of developing land for the feeding and yarding of livestock en route to slaughterers, as well as providing adjacent lands for the operations of private packing houses and for the offices of livestock commission firms.

The chief organizers were apparently Alpheus B. Stickney, president of the Chicago Great Western Railroad, and Constantine W. Benson, the head of C. W. Benson and Company, a St. Paul foreign investment firm. The stockyards company issued $1 million in capital stock and $2 million in mortagage bonds, much of which was purchased for English investors by Robert H. Benson and Company of London, which firm appeared to be quite active in the corporation's affairs.

The stockyards were developed on 260 acres along the Mississippi River, three miles south of St. Paul. It operated at a substantial loss until 1897, when Swift and Company purchased the packing plant located within the yards. Swift acquired a half-interest in the stockyards company, which succeeded in paying off its mortgage in 1916.

During the local period of the records (1886-1926), Ansel Oppenheim, Mark D. Flower, and T. E. Good served as the firm's successive presidents; Alexander A. McKechnie was its secretary-treasurer.

In 1982 the firm was owned by United Stockyards Corp, Chicago, and it claimed to be operating the world's largest livestock market. In 1993 it was apparently doing business as South St. Paul Livestock Market, a subsidiary of United Market Services Company.

Return to top

The records of the Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company include historical and background materials, including information on the rival Twin City Stock Yards at New Brighton, Minnesota, and the Minnesota Transfer Railway; annual reports, minutes of meetings, and stockholders records; personnel records (mostly 1930s-1950s); ledgers, journals, financial statements, construction ledgers, and other accounting records; correspondence, transcripts, and other materials related to Packers and Stockyards Docket 1211 (1955-1961) in which the company sought permission to charge higher rates for its services; and real estate and equipment appraisal volumes (1919, 1923, 1956).

Records of related companies include financial and other records of the Stockyards Terminal Railway (1907-1910), the St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway Company (1908-1943), and the Stockyards Railway Company (1941-1970s). There are miscellaneous materials relating to the Billings Union Stockyards (Mont., 1940s-1961), the Union Stockyards Company of Fargo (N.D., 1959-1965; known also as the West Fargo Union Stockyards), the United Stockyards Corporation (1952-1966), the Canol-Randolph Corporation (1959-1966), the St. Paul Livestock Exchange (1940), and the South St. Paul Livestock Market Institute (1954-1966).

Personnel records contain medical, compensation, and hiring/retirement/termination data on employees, and information on work-related accidents.

Return to top

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Return to top

Access Restrictions:

Includes private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 9311; 12,192; GN-1833; 14,010

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, November 1962; additions by Dennis E. Meissner, February 1978 and June 1988; addition by David B. Peterson, August 2000

Catalog ID number: 990017127260104294

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Materials date from ca.1912 to ca.1973 (bulk 1930s-1950s) and appear to pertain primarily (perhaps exclusively) to employees of the Saint Paul Union Stockyards Company. Files include applications for employment; notices of suspension, dismissal or resignation forms; physical record forms (give employee's height, weight, date of birth, etc.); wage and earnings information; W-2, W-2b, and W-4 forms; workmen's compensation claim forms and related papers and correspondence; sick and accident time reports; change of employee's status reports; and recommendation for promotion, transfer or change of pay forms.

Access: Includes private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Return to top

Markets newspaper and its successor, Agricultural Markets, which were published by the related company Markets, Incorporated, are in the Minnesota Historical Society newspaper collection.

The 414-image West Fargo Union Stockyards Photograph Collection is at the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, Fargo, North Dakota.

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Livestock -- Marketing -- Minnesota -- South Saint Paul.

Meat industry and trade -- Minnesota -- South Saint Paul.

Railroads -- Livestock transportation -- Minnesota -- South Saint Paul.

Stockyards -- Minnesota -- New Brighton.

Stockyards -- Minnesota -- South Saint Paul.

Stockyards -- Montana -- Billings.

Stockyards -- North Dakota -- Fargo.

Places:

South Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Industries.

Organizations:

Billings Union Stockyards (Billings, Mont.).

Canol-Randolph Corporation.

Markets, Incorporated (South Saint Paul, Minn.).

Minnesota Transfer Railway Company.

St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway Company.

St. Paul Livestock Exchange (Minn.).

South St. Paul Livestock Market Institute (South Saint Paul, Minn.).

Stockyards Railway Company (Minn.).

Stockyards Terminal Railway (Minn.).

Twin City Stock Yards (New Brighton, Minn.).

Union Stockyards Company of Fargo (N.D.).

United Stockyards Corporation.

Types of Documents:

Personnel records.

Occupations:

Livestock workers -- Minnesota -- South Saint Paul.

Return to top