Chicago Meatpacking and the Stockyards Era (1865-1920)

1. Union Stock Yard opens in Chicago

   Dec 25, 1865Labels: Union Stock, Chicago South

   • Chicago Encyclopedia
   • Chicago Encyclopedia

2. Swift begins buying cattle in Chicago

   Jan 1, 1875Labels: Gustavus F, Chicago Packers

   • Chicago Encyclopedia
   • Britannica

3. First successful refrigerated meat shipment

   Jan 1, 1877Labels: Refrigerator Car, Swift &

   • Britannica
   • Swift Line

4. Bureau of Animal Industry is created

   May 29, 1884Labels: Bureau of, USDA

   • BAI

5. Union Stock Yard becomes a massive national hub

   Jan 1, 1890Labels: Union Stock, Packingtown

   • Chicago Encyclopedia
   • Union Yards

6. Pullman Strike turmoil reaches Chicago rail yards

   May 11, 1894Labels: Pullman Strike, Chicago Rail

   • NPS Pullman

7. Chicago River flow is reversed for sanitation

   Jan 2, 1900Labels: Chicago River, Sanitary and

   • CSSC
   • WTTW

8. National Packing Company forms amid antitrust pressure

   Jan 1, 1903Labels: National Packing, Beef Trust

   • Britannica
   • Morris Co

9. Chicago packinghouse strike ends in defeat

   Sep 6, 1904Labels: Packinghouse Strike, Meatpacking Workers

   • Meat Cutters

10. The Jungle exposes conditions in packinghouses

    Feb 28, 1906Labels: The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

    • Britannica
    • The Jungle

11. Federal meat and food safety laws are signed

    Jun 30, 1906Labels: Meat Inspection, Pure Food

    • Britannica
    • FDA History

12. National Packing is dissolved under regulation pressure

    Jan 1, 1912Labels: National Packing, Antitrust Action

    • Morris Co

13. FTC is established to police unfair competition

    Sep 26, 1914Labels: Federal Trade, FTC

    • FTC Act

14. FTC reports on meatpacking market power

    Jan 1, 1919Labels: FTC Report, Meatpacking Industry

    • Food Investigation

15. Era closes as federal oversight expands beyond 1920

    Dec 31, 1920Labels: Packers and, Chicago Stockyards

    • Packers Act