The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was a 90-year-old company first founded in

South Omaha, Nebraska South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. ...

in 1878 by John A. Smiley. After being moved to

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

and dissolved within a year, the company was reorganized and moved to

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth, due to the rapid development of the Union S ...

in 1883. Six local businessmen responded to a request by

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

cattle baron Cattle baron is a historic term for a local businessman and landowner who possessed great power or influence through the operation of a large ranch with many beef cattle. Cattle barons in the late 19th century United States were also sometimes ref ...

Alexander Swan showing interest in a livestock market closer than the

Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The Company's

Union Stockyards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

were once a fierce rival of Chicago's

. The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was bought out in 1973.

History

Six local businessmen, including William A. Paxton,

Herman Kountze Herman Kountze (August 21, 1833 – November 20, 1906) was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha, Herman and ...

and

John A. Creighton John Andrew Creighton (October 15, 1831 – February 7, 1907) was a pioneer businessman and philanthropist in Omaha, Nebraska who founded Creighton University. The younger brother of Edward Creighton, John was responsible for a variety of instituti ...

, formed the Union Stockyards on December 1, 1883 and purchased of land. At that same point the businessmen formed the

South Omaha Land Company The South Omaha Land Company was created in South Omaha, Nebraska in 1887. Founders included William A. Paxton. History The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha paid $100,000 to the South Omaha Land Company for of land to serve as a transfer statio ...

, platting the city of

that same year over the remaining . The City of Omaha annexed South Omaha in 1915. At that time related businesses in South Omaha included the Union Stockyards Bank of South Omaha,

South Omaha Terminal Railway The South Omaha Terminal Railway in Omaha, Nebraska was a subsidiary of the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. Until the separate railroad company was created in July 1927, the trackage, about , was owned and operated directly by the Union Stock Ya ...

, the Union Elevator, the

Union Trust Company Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and the

South Omaha Land Syndicate South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. In 1927 the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha constructed the Livestock Exchange Building to house its operations. The

meatpacking The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...

industry of South Omaha was closely reliant on the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, and South Omaha relied solely on both of those industries for its growth for more than 100 years. In 1957 it was estimated that combined the industries employed fully one-half of Omaha workers. After a downturn in the market and changes in the livestock industry, the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha lost value through the 1960s. In 1973 the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was sold to the Canal Capital Corporation of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1999 the Union Stockyards were closed by the City of Omaha, and replaced with a business park.Biga, L. A. (1998
"How the Mighty Did Fall: The Stockyards Nears the End of an Era."
''New Horizons.'' 9/21/98. Eastern Nebraska Office of Aging. Retrieved 6/22/07.

References

External links

Historic Photos
of the Stockyards. {{DEFAULTSORT:Union Stock Yards Company Omaha Omaha Union Stock Yards Omaha Union Stock Yards Landmarks in Omaha, Nebraska History of South Omaha, Nebraska Switching and terminal railroads Defunct Nebraska railroads Defunct companies based in Nebraska Meatpacking industry in Omaha, Nebraska 1876 establishments in Nebraska 1973 disestablishments in Nebraska

History

See also

References

External links