Utah's Pickle and Vinegar Industry

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This page was last updated on April 2, 2025.

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Overview

Although never the source for high numbers of carloadings, pickles were still an important source of business for Utah's railroads. The shipment of pickles either in dedicated cars, or in barrels inside of boxcars was the method used. The last dedicated pickle company went out of business in the late 1960s, at least as far as business for a railroad company.

"Pickles of all kinds packed in both cans and bottles are produced in the factory located at Salt Lake City. From six months to a year is usually required to grow and cure pickles. The majority of the products from this factory are sold in Utah and surrounding states. , The factory contracts with the farmers of Salt Lake, Utah, and Davies counties for the cucumbers. This industry provides work for a small army of men during the summer and fall months with the various activities having to do with the raising of the cucumbers and the several processes of curing." ("Utah-Resources And Activities" published in 1933)

Factories in Utah that produced pickles usually produced vinegar and sauerkraut because all three products involved large wooden vats located next to the factory building.

Pickles, vinegar and sauerkraut were among the many canned food products made in Utah. These products also included peas, tomatoes, catsup, string beans, lima beans, pork and beans, beets, pumpkins, milk, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, apricots, peaches, and apples.

Pickles

Pickles are made by submerging fresh cucumbers in a brine solution, typically containing vinegar, salt, and spices, to preserve them and impart a tangy flavor.

The brine solution is the core of the pickling process. It preserves the cucumbers and adds flavor. The brine solution is made up of vinegar, salt, spices, and sometimes, sugar. The vinegar is usually white or apple cider vinegar, and is a key ingredient for preservation and contributes to the sour taste. Salt has always been a crucial preservative, by drawing water out of the cucumbers and inhibiting bacterial growth. Spices like dill, garlic, peppercorns, and mustard seeds are often added to enhance the flavor. Sugar is sometimes added to balance the acidity of the vinegar and create a sweeter flavor.

The cucumbers are first washed and trimmed. The prepared cucumbers are then placed in large vats (wooden vats in early times) where the brine solution is allowed to penetrate the cucumbers and preserve them. The preserved cucumbers are packed into jars (sometimes sliced or cut into "spears"), along with any desired spices, and heated brine is added to the jarred cucumbers and the jars sealed and placed in a boiling water bath to ensure long shelf life.

The types of pickles include Dill Pickles, a popular type known for their dill flavor, made with dill weed and garlic, and Sweet Pickles, which have sugar (and sometimes spices) added to the brine solution instead of dill and garlic.

Vinegar

Vinegar is made through a two-stage fermentation process. First, sugar is converted to alcohol by yeast, then acetic acid bacteria converts the alcohol into acetic acid (the sour component of vinegar).

Vinegar can be made from almost any product that contains sugar or starch. This includes fruits such as apples and grapes, or grains, such as wheat and barley, or some wood products, such as beechwood. Vinegar made from apples is known as apple cider vinegar. Vinegar made from grapes is known as wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Vinegar made from grain is known as distilled white vinegar.

These products are first converted to alcohol by fermentation. Then the alcohol is converted to acetic acid, also by fermentation, making use of acetic acid bacteria that is either present naturally or added. This process requires oxygen, which is why vinegar is traditionally made in open containers or with aeration.

In the 19th century (the 1800s), vinegar production underwent many dramatic changes, such as rapid industrialization and scientific analysis. The first large-scale industrial process for vinegar production was invented in the Kingdom of Baden in Europe in 1823. The invention circulated alcohol over beechwood shavings to reduce fermentation times from several months down to one or two weeks. This process also facilitated the rise of vinegar made from pure alcohol called spirit vinegar or distilled white vinegar. (Wikipedia)

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut, meaning "sour cabbage" in German, is made by fermenting shredded cabbage with salt, which naturally releases its own brining solution, resulting in a crunchy, sour food. The primary ingredients are cabbage (shredded or chopped) and salt. After mixing the salt with the cabbage, it is sealed in a closed container and stored for several days or weeks. The salt inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, while naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria ferment the cabbage, producing lactic acid, which gives sauerkraut its characteristic sour taste and preserves it. During fermentation, the cabbage will release liquid and become softer as it ferments. Once fermentation is complete, after about six weeks, sauerkraut can be stored in a refrigerated space for several months. Some sauerkraut recipes include other ingredients like caraway seeds, garlic, or other spices to add flavor.

Capital Pickle Company

Salt Lake City (1 plant) (741 South Third West)

Lehi, Utah County (1 receiving station 100 feet by 30 feet; with five vats)

Springville, Utah County (1 receiving station)

(Prior to 1912, see Mount Pickle Company)

April 8, 1912
Stockholders of Mount Pickle Company met to approve a name change to Capital Pickle Company, retaining J. B. Cosgriff as company president. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1912)

September 5, 1914
Lehi plant of Capital Pickle company to its capacity doubled. (Lehi Banner, September 5, 1914)

February 11, 1915
Goddard Pickle and Preserve company bought the Capital Pickle company in Salt Lake City, located on Third West between Seventh and Eighth South. Capitol Pickle "had a local and international business amounting to more than $100,000 per year." (Salt Lake Tribune, February 11, 1915, "yesterday")

(The details of the deal were that Goddard bought Capital's contracts and processes, and leased the facility from the Capital company, which remained as a business.)

March 25, 1916
By March 1916, the Capital Pickle Company was shown as being delinquent on its state corporate license fee. (Salt Lake Tribune, March 25, 1916)

(After 1915, see Goddard Pickle and Preserving Company, later Goddard Packing)

(Read more about the Goddard Packing Company as part of Utah's overall canning industry)

Colorado & Utah Canning Company

1892-1897

April 25, 1894
Colorado & Utah Canning company opened a factory in Salt Lake City "working up pickles and kindred products." (Salt Lake Herald, April 25, 1894)

(Research suggests that this location was not in operation after the company's bankruptcy in 1897, possibly sooner.)

(Read more about Colorado-Utah Canning company, and the later Utah Canning Company as part of the overall canning industry in Utah)

Goddard Pickle and Preserve Company

1912 - 1917 (to Goddard Packing Company in 1917)

Ogden, Weber County

(Read more about the Goddard Pickle and Preserve Company as part of Utah's overall canning industry)

Goddard Packing Company

1917-1922

Ogden, Utah (1 plant) (pickles) (closed in 1932)

Salt Lake City (1 plant) (pickles)

Provo (1 plant) (no pickles)

(Read more about the Goddard Packing Company as part of Utah's overall canning industry)

Mount Pickle Company

Salt Lake City (741 South Third West)

Kaysville, Davis County (1 receiving station 100 feet by 36 feet; with five vats) (1906 season only)

Lehi, Utah County (receiving and salting station only)

(The Lehi facility was not mentioned in 1919 in an article about Goddard Packing and its three plants in Ogden, Salt Lake City and Provo. It may have been in use solely as a receiving station where farmers' cucumbers were loaded into railroad cars for the trip to Salt Lake City.)

The following comes from the December 20, 1992 issue of the Lehi Free Press, concerning the Lehi salting station.

One of the more colorful chapters in Lehi history is the pickle industry which once thrived here. After meeting with members of the Lehi Commercial Club in early 1906, a Mr. Mount from Salt Lake City agreed to build a pickle factory in Lehi. In exchange for his commitment the club agreed to secure local contracts for one hundred acres of cucumbers and to pay Mount $350 on completion of the facility.

The Feb. 22,1906 "Lehi Banner" announced that small cucumbers (one to four inches long) would be bought for $20 per ton or 1 cent per pound. Larger ones (four to five inches long), for which there was a limited market, were worth only half as much. Farmers were told to anticipate eight to 15 tons per acre, which would be worth $160 to $300.

By mid-July the Mount Pickle Factory was completed. A large frame building just south of the pumphouse near the Salt Lake Route railroad depot was surrounded by huge salting vats. As agreed upon, the Commercial Club paid Mount the promised $350 bounty when the facility was completed.

By 1914 the Mount Pickle Factory was owned by the Capital Pickle Company of Salt Lake City. The firm, under the management of Andrew Jacobs, operated seven large pickling vats, each 12 feet in diameter and 10 feet high.

These tanks were filled with small cucumbers, while the larger ones used to make dill pickles were placed in 50-gallon drums filled with brine. The dill used in the plant's operations was grown on the company's property near the railroad depot.

During the 1914 season Capital processed an average of eight to 10 tons of cucumbers per day. From a single acre during the month of August a local farmer picked 11,000 pounds of small cukes and 7,000 pounds of larger ones. His pay check for the month was $175.

By the early 1920's the local pickling station was under the ownership of the Utah Pickle Company. Prices paid that year were $33 per ton for small cucumbers and $12 per ton for larger ones. During the Depression the plant went out of business, but still purchased Lehi cucumbers.

Manager John H. Smith announced in the Jan. 20, 1937 "Lehi Free Press" that in the upcoming season the Utah Pickling Company would pay $27 per ton for smaller cucumbers and $13 per ton for the larger sizes. There is no large-scale cucumber-growing in the area at present.

January 19, 1906
"The Mount Pickle company begun work today, remodeling the old soap factory on Third West near Eighth South streets, and will expend $50,000 in this work and in the installation of machinery necessary to start up a business that will amount to $300,000 per year. Three cars of raw material are now on the side tracks and more are on the road, so that a beginning can be made at an early day, and without waiting for the entire proposed plant to be set up." (Deseret News, January 19, 1906)

March 28, 1906
"Articles of incorporation of the Mount Pickle Co.. Salt Lake City, Utah, has been filed with the County Clerk. The capital stock is $50.000. divided into shares of the par value of $100 each. It is organized to manufacture pickles, vinegar, sauces, etc. The officers of the Mount Pickle Co. are: C. W. Mount of Denver, president; J. B. Cosgriff, vice-president; H. P. Clark, secretary and treasurer. (Salt Lake Herald, March 29, 1906, "yesterday")

April 12, 1906
"A pickling station will be established this season at Lehi, Utah, and the farmers in that locality will plant upwards of 100 acres of cucumbers, in addition to cabbage, peppers, etc. The plant will be operated by the Mount Pickle company, Salt Lake City." (Canner and Dried Fruit Packer magazine, April 12, 1906)

May 12, 1906
Work had begun on a "salting station" for the Mount Pickle Company near the Lehi station of the "Salt Lake Route." The work includes large sheds covering ten large vats. Thirty by 100 feet. (Emery County Progress, May 12, 1906; Salt Lake Telegram, May 14, 1906; Lehi Banner, June 7, 1906)

(The first stage of the pickling process loaded fresh cucumbers into large salting vats at receiving stations as a preliminary preservation process; then loading into railroad cars for shipment to a central pickle factory where the semi-finished pickles were finished in large vats.)

August 2, 1906
The Springville receiving station of the Mount Pickle company had started receiving cucumbers. (Lehi Banner, August 2, 1906)

April 8, 1912
At a special meeting on April 8, 1912, the stockholders of the Mount Pickle Company voted to change the name to the Capital Pickle Company. J. B. Cosgriff was shown as president. (Salt Lake Herald, April 9, 1912, "yesterday")

(Research suggests that C. W. Mount, the former president of the company, left the state in early 1911 to move to Sacramento, California, with his wife and daughter joining him in late May.)

February 11, 1915
"Another large deal was consummated yesterday when the Goddard Pickle & Preserve company of Ogden purchased the interests of the Capital Pickle company of Salt Lake. The consideration was $50.000. The local plant, which is on Third West between Seventh and Eighth South, will be operated in connection with the Ogden plant of the Goddards under the general supervision of E. J. Weibel, who has been superintendent of the Capital Pickle company's plant since its foundation. George W. Goddard will be general manager of the consolidated company. The Capital Pickle company was founded about ten years ago under the name of the Mount Pickle company and at the present time has twenty-five employees. James E. Cosgriff was president and W. W. Trimmer, secretary of the Capital Pickle company." (Salt Lake Herald, February 11, 1915)

(see Capital Pickle Company)

National Packing Corporation

(Research suggests that all three successors to Goddard Packing focused on canning fruits and vegetables in tin cans, rather producing pickles and vinegar.) (Those three successors were National Packing after 1921, Pacific Coast Canners after 1926, and Pleasant Grove Canning after 1938)

(Read more about the Goddard Packing Company as part of Utah's overall canning industry)

June 25,1921
All of the property of the Goddard Packing Company in Ogden and in Provo, including all products on hand, was sold at auction on the steps of the Weber County courthouse, as a result of a failed receivership of the company. (Ogden Standard Examiner, June 5, 1921)

January 28, 1922
National Packing Corporation was organized to take over the factories of the Goddard Packing company of Ogden, Salt Lake and Provo. The articles of incorporation had been filed with the office of the county clerk. (Ogden Standard Examiner, January 28, 1922)

(Pickles continued to be produced by National Packing at Ogden until it was closed in 1932)

(After 1922; see National Packing Corporation)

National Pickle Company

The National Pickle Company was a nationwide organization that purchased cucumbers from farmers in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Utah (in the 1906 period). The first reference was in February 1906 in New York and Pennsylvania newspapers. The August 30, 1906 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune carried a story that the National Pickle company was purchasing cucumbers from farmers in Kaysville, Lehi, Springville and Spanish Fork. The company had warehouses measuring 42 feet by 136 feet in these same areas, employing 80 persons statewide. While the references in Utah newspapers began in August 1906, and ended in September (indicating that the buying of Utah cucumbers was only during the 1906 season), references in newspapers in other states continued as late as 1922.

Rose Preserving Company

1910-1912

Ogden, Weber County

(Prior to 1910, see Utah Vinegar & Pickle Company)

April 13, 1910
The Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works business was sold to G. W. Goddard and J. C. Rose, and the factory building leased to them by Edward Bischel. (Ogden Standard Examiner, April 14, 1910, "yesterday")

April 24, 1910
Rose Preserving Company filed its articles of incorporation in Utah on April 24, 1910, with James C. Rose as president and George W. Goddard as vice president. The purpose was to take over the Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works of Ogden. (Salt Lake Herald Republican, April 24, 1910)

September 12, 1910
The following comes from the September 12, 1910 issue of the Ogden Standard Examiner newspaper.

Under a new name the Utah Pickle & Vinegar company has opened its fall campaign and at this time is busy changing the raw material into a finished product. The new name of the company is the Rose Preserving company.

The plant, which is located on Wall avenue between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth streets, has been entirely remodeled during the summer and nearly $10,000 expended on improvements. The new firm, which purchased the plant last May, have their offices at present in Salt Lake City, but contemplate moving to Ogden within a short time. The officers of the company are: J. C. Rose, president; George W. Goddard, vice president; Ed Lichliter, secretary, and C. W. Trith, treasurer.

A complete vinegar plant has been installed and ascetic fluid is being manufactured from pure corn meal in great quantities. There is a large still for the making of alcohol, and fifty generating tanks for the converting of alcohol into vinegar. The first step in the manufacture of vinegar is the fermentation of the grain in huge tanks in the cellar. After the mixture is fermented it goes to the still and the alcohol is extracted by distillation. Next the alcohol, which is of low per cent, is transferred to the generating tanks, where further fermentation converts the alcohol into vinegar.

The plant will this year handle 10,000 bushels of cucumbers, 12 car loads of cabbage, 18 tons of onions and two car loads of cauliflower. This will be the largest output that the plant has ever attempted.

January 20, 1911
Goddard and Rose met with the state food inspector to begin the work to pass legislation that would require all vinegar products to be labeled as to the source of the vinegar. The types mentioned were vinegar made from malt and grain, versus vinegar made from sugar, molasses, or "sugar house waste." (Deseret News, January 20, 1911)

May 23, 1912
"The Goddard Pickle and Preserving company will succeed the Rose Preserving company. George W. Goddard of Salt Lake City succeeds J. C. Rose as president and manager; John Watson of Ogden Is named as vice president; John Pingree of Ogden, treasurer, and Edward Lichliter, secretary. Mr. Goddard has moved his family to Ogden. (Salt Lake Herald, May 24, 1912)

May 25, 1912
"George W. Goddard, recently of Salt Lake City, has purchased the controlling interest in the Goddard Pickling & Preserve company. Under reorganization of the company Mr. Goddard becomes president and general manager." (Ogden Standard Examiner, May 25, 1932, "20 Years Ago")

November 15, 1912
Rose Preserving Company changed its name to Goddard Pickle and Preserve Company after George W. Goddard took control of the company from J. C. Rose on or about May 1, 1912. On May 4, 1912, the Goddard company filed for the trademark of "Rose Brand" with the image of a red rose. In November 1912, the Goddard company sued for trademark infringement over the use of the "Rose" trademark by Rose Pickle and Vinegar Company after J. C. Rose and J. T. Keith organized the latter company on August 1, 1912. The suit was filed by Goddard after Keith had filed with the secretary of state's office on May 29, 1912 to register the Rose trademark for the new Rose company, complaining that the Goddard company had been very successful in its business before and after the name change, using brands including "Rose," "Rose Brand," and "Rose's" and should be allowed exclusive use of the Rose as its trademark. A restraining order in favor of the Goddard company was issued by the court in March 1913. The decision was rendered by the court in May 1914, in the favor of George Goddard's company, with the Rose company being restrained from using an image of a rose, or the name, for any of its products. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 15, 1912; December 8, 1912; Salt Lake Herald Republican, March 26, 1913; Ogden Standard, May 7, 1914)

(No further reference to Rose Preserving Company in available online newspapers.)

(Read more about the Goddard Packing Company as part of Utah's overall canning industry)

Utah Pickle Company

Salt Lake City (266 South Sixth West)

Salt Lake City (741 South Third West) (by February 1930)

Also known as the "Aro Pickle Factory."

Warehouse at 703 South Third West

"ARO" "Arrow Brand" sweet and sour pickles. (The brand was active since at least August 1917, showing an arrow passing through the letters ARO. "Straight as an arrow the ARO brand pickles hit the mark of highest perfection of the pickling art.")

"The first industrial building on the block (Block 12, Plat A) was the Utah Pickle Co, originally built as the Grant Soap Works, by Heber J. Grant in 1893." (Rachel Quist)

Grant Soap Company

May 3, 1893
The Grant Soap Company filed its articles of incorporation on May 3, 1893. Officers and directors included Frank A. Grant (president), John Henry Smith (vice president), Heber J. Grant (secretary-treasurer) Richard S. Grant, Ernest Grant Rognon and Joseph H. Grant. (Deseret News, May 3, 1893, "this afternoon")

July 7, 1893
"The Grant Soap Company's factory, now being erected on Third West, between Seventh and Eighth South streets, by Tuddenham & Co., will cost about $10,000." (Salt Lake Herald, July 7, 1893)

January 11, 1894
"Tomorrow the last run of the Grant soap factory in the present quarters will be made and on the 25th of the month the removal to the new factory building on Third West and Eighth South will be commenced. The structure is now nearly completed and by the time the first machinery is ready to be placed everything will be in proper shape for its reception. The company yesterday received a large order for soap from the Austin Mining & Milling company, of Austin. Nevada." (Salt Lake Herald, January 11, 1894)

January 26, 1894
"Yesterday afternoon the last boiler of the Grant Soap company was set in the new factory on Third West between Seventh and Eighth South and the last of the machinery was moved from the old quarters near the Union Pacific depot. On the first of the coming month the factory will be ready for full operation." (Salt Lake Herald, January 26, 1894)

(Research suggests that the company failed in the last half of 1897. The soap factory was idle and boarded up in August 1898.)

November 22, 1903
The Grant Soap company sold its property (7.5 x 10 rods; 123 feet x 165 feet) in Lot 4, Block 12 to Arthur M. Goshen (sic: Goslen). (Salt Lake Herald, November 22, 1903)

(The Goslen brothers owned the Utah Hide and Live Stock Company, which was one of the largest sheep raising companies in eastern Utah and western Colorado. Their offices were in Salt Lake City.)

(Read a few more details about Grant Soap Company)

The 1898 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Salt Lake City (Sheet 28) shows the "Grant Soap Company" at 751 South Third West.

The 1906 Salt Lake City Directory lists the "Mount Pickle Company" operating in this building, and they were manufacturers of "Pickles, Mustards, Sauces, Baked Pork and Beans, and Vinegar."

(In the 1914 period, John R. Winter was well known for his association with ZCMI and "was prominent among wholesale and retail grocery dealers.")

(First reference to Utah Pickle Company in available online newspapers was in March 1916 when a son of John R. Winter, owner of Utah Pickle Company was killed in a slide in a sandpit on Tenth Avenue in Salt Lake City.)

August 27, 1916
Utah Pickle Co. was issued a building permit for its location at 266 South Sixth West; a one-story frame building. (Salt Lake Tribune, August 27, 1916)

August 26, 1917
The first ad in available online newspapers for ARO brand pickles from Utah Pickle Co., showing the company's address as 266 South Sixth West. (Salt Lake Herald Republican, August 26, 1917)

April 21, 1918
John R. Winter, of Utah Pickle Company wrote a testimonial letter about the virtues of the International truck they had recently purchased. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 21, 1918)

(Research suggests that Utah Pickle was still at this time at its location on Sixth West, and likely moved to the Third West location after the 1921 bankruptcy of Goddard Packing.)

(Read more about the Goddard Packing Company as part of Utah's overall canning industry)

January 6, 1921
Utah Pickle was still at the Sixth West location. (Deseret News, January 6, 1921, on the occasion of a burglary)

May 11, 1922
John R. Winter and Edward Lichliter (of Utah Pickle Company) purchased the property of the Mount Pickle Company at 741 South Third West. (Salt Lake County Recorder abstract books)

August 21, 1922
Utah Pickle had moved to the Third West location. (Salt Lake Tribune, August 21, 1922, want ad for "experienced sorters")

The 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Salt Lake City (Volume 2, Sheet 131) shows "formerly Utah Pickle Co." at 254 South Sixth West, immediately west of the D&RGW roundhouse.

The 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Salt Lake City (Volume 2, Sheet 168) shows "Utah Pickle Co." at 741 South Third West.

Bissinger & Co.

The adjacent building to the north is identified on the 1926 Sanborn map as the "Bissinger & Co., Hides and Tallow," at 737 South Third (400) West. This company first appears in Utah newspapers in 1910, advertising for consignments of hides and pelts. Research found that Bissenger & Co. had their headquarters in San Francisco, with their operating center in Portland, Oregon. Their business was the export, through Portland, of sheep and goat pelts from Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. They sued the railroads in 1924 for rate relief in the shipment of whole carloads of hides and pelts. The company was also the buyer of coyote and wolf pelts from the occasional bounty programs in the region, as well as deer and elk hides purchased from hunters. By the mid 1940s, the company, with all of its operations along the Pacific Coast, was the largest hide and pelt dealer in the United States.

The company founder, Adolf Bissinger, was killed along with his wife, both of San Francisco, in a railroad derailment in Nevada in February 1901. As early as 1880, Bissinger & Co. were regular exporters of hides and furs from the port of San Francisco. They began exporting from the port of Portland at about the same time.

By 1953, there were no longer the daily want ads in newspapers for the company in Utah newspapers, offering to buy hides and pelts. The last advertisement was in late October 1952.

July 5, 1926
Utah Pickle Co. began selling its Blue Goose Wonder Pickle brand product. It came in four flavors: sweet, dill, sour, ans cucumber, all in one bottle. Sales were to begin "this week." (Salt Lake Telegram, July 5, 1926)

December 16, 1929
During 1929, the growers of Lehi shipped 235 tons of cucumbers to Utah Pickle Company. (Deseret News, December 16, 1929; no mention of the salting station in Lehi)

Throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s there were regular ads in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah county newspapers announcing to farmers that they could make $400, then $500, then $600 per acre by growing cucumbers for Utah Pickle Company. On May 5, 1949, the American Fork Citizen newspaper reported that nearly 100 acres was being planted to grow cucumbers for Utah Pickle Company, with most of the farms being in the American Fork and Lehi area, with other farms as far south as Springville, "Big Profits on Small Acreage."

The 1942 Salt Lake County tax assessor records show that there were 42 wooden tanks on the property. These wooden tanks varied in capacity from two tanks at 2,540 gallons, and one tank at 10,200 gallons, with 28 tanks at 3,800 gallons, five at 5,300 gallons and four at 6,800 gallons. All were of splined wooden construction.

"Plant cucumbers on that extra 1/4 to 1/2 acre of idle land. Just the thing to earn that extra money. In territory from Brigham City to Springville." (Deseret News, April 13, 1952)

Bamberger Cars

Utah Pickle Company purchased the five Bamberger "Bullet" cars in 1953, after Bamberger ended passenger operations in 1952. The five cars had their wheel assemblies removed and the bodies were moved to locations to house migrant workers in the cucumber fields in the Layton area. At first, the cars were "scattered" and placed in the fields as needed, but were later gathered together under a single roof. The pickle company decided to no longer house its migrant workers, and in spring 1971 the structure protecting the cars was demolished, exposing the five cars to the weather. (Perris Progress, Riverside County, July 21, 1971)

Federal regulations in June 1964, known as "Operation Wetback," had been implemented to halt the flow of Mexican nationals as farm labor in the United States. Between 1942 and 1964 the federal government had in place an agreement with the Mexican government that allowed Mexican nationals to be imported into the United States to perform farm labor due to the shortage of workers from within the United States. These workers were known as Braceros (Spanish for manual laborers). (Read the Wikipedia article about the Bracero Program)

"During 1962, Utah brought in about 7,000 Mexican nationals. In addition, Utah also brought in about 2,000 farm workers from other states." (Ogden Standard Examiner, August 4, 1963)

Following the changes in the federal program in June 1964, during the remainder of 1964 there were 500 Mexican nationals working in Utah, and by January 1965, Utah Pickle was the only company within the area served by the state-level Ogden Employment Security Office, which encompassed Weber County, Morgan County and Davis County north of Kaysville, with 200 to 750 normally working within the same area depending on the season and crop being harvested. By 1965 there were 55 Mexican nationals being employed by Utah Pickle. (Ogden Standard Examiner, January 22, 1965)

The Mexican national laborers were replaced in the labor pool by about 2,000 Indians from New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, and 1,500 Spanish-American workers from the border states of Texas and Arizona. The farms were not required to provide housing for these workers, which was the case with the Mexican nationals. These workers sought their own housing and the five former Bamberger cars tended to remain empty and unused during subsequent seasons after the 1965 season.

(Read more about the Bamberger Bullet cars)

June 2, 1961
The second floor of the Utah Pickle company's building burned as the result of a fire in the adjacent building, owned by AAA Textile. (Deseret News, June 2, 1961)

June 25, 1961
The following comes from the June 25, 1961 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Utah Pickle Co., 741 S. 3rd West, will resume limited production Tuesday for the first time since a fire June 2 damaged its plant.

Rulon H. Bate, president of the company which markets its products under the Aro brand, said all varieties of the firm's products now are available because of stocks already on hand.

Chief problem, according to Mr. Bate, is damage to about 30 barrels used to process sweet pickles. Their destruction, along with stock undergoing processing, will necessitate the use of smaller barrels, thus slowing production.

Also, because of the fire, packing of fresh pickles, such as bread and butter and kosher types, will have to be undertaken at the same time this summer as cured pickle packing.

This probably will result in a temporary slowdown for the plant, the president declared, and also may require an additional night shift to process the pickles.

The fire could not have happened at a more inopportune time because of the ripening of the cucumber crop and an increase in pickle sales during summer months, Mr. Bate said.

The firm's stock of cured pickles was not damaged in the blaze nor was the building and equipment for the automatic sorting of the product. The area where the pickles are further sorted by hand and also the cooking area are expected to be equipped with a new roof and other repairs in time to start production again by Tuesday.

Mr. Bate said the firm is considering the possibility of moving the plant site, but no selection of a site has been made. Much of the equipment in the fire-damaged plant would be difficult to replace and, after the repair work currently under way is completed, operations will continue for a time at the present locations, he added.

January 25, 1965
Nelson-Ricks Creamery, makers of Banquet products (including Banquet-brand butter and cheese), purchased the Utah Pickle Company. (Deseret News, January 25, 1965)

(The Nelson-Ricks Creamery company was a family-owned business organized 1907 by John A. Nelson and N. R. Ricks, and by 1962 operated 10 plants in Utah and Idaho, with distribution throughout 11 western states. The company produced Banquet Better Foods. Their Salt Lake City location was at 341 West Third South. N. R. Ricks left the company in 1937. J. A. Nelson died in December 1962 at age 78 and was replaced as president by his son Calvin L. Nelson.)

June 12, 1972
The Utah Pickle Company property at 741 South Third (400) West was sold to American Barrel and Cooperage Company. (Salt Lake County Recorder abstract books)

(American Barrel then began dismantling and salvaging the redwood vats located on the eastern side of the property.)

July 1972
Between July 9th and July 21st, there were daily newspaper ads offering redwood in sizes of 2x6, 2x7, and 2x8. The redwood could be seen at the "Old Utah Pickle Factory" at 741 South Third West. (This suggests that the pickle factory was closed and was being demolished.)

(Subsequent references in available online newspapers are only for a variety of obituaries of former workers.)

(By September 1972, ads show that the Aro brand of pickles produced by the Utah Pickle company since 1917, had been changed to the Early California brand. The last ad for Aro dill pickles was in 1974.)

"In 1972, Utah Pickle sold the property to the American Barrel and Cooperage Company, which sold it to Walter J. Plumb, III et al. in 1979. The property changed hands several other times during the modern era, ending up under the current property owner—Domain Properties, LLC." (Historic Site Form, Utah State Historic Preservation Office, 741 S 400 West; Grant Soap/Utah Pickle Company; Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County; Warehouse Historic District)

(Historic Site Form, Utah State Historic Preservation Office; PDF; 37 pages; link courtesy of Rachel Quist)

The following description comes from the above Historic Site Form. The information was compiled in December 2015, and includes numerous minor errors. Later research in available online newspapers has been able to better pinpoint many of the details.

The Grant Soap/Utah Pickle Company building is a two-story manufacturing/warehouse building constructed around 1894. It has a flat roof and rests on a dressed sandstone block foundation. The original part of the building has a roughly triangular footprint that accommodated a railroad spur that passed along the south side of the structure. A large, multi-component addition was constructed on the rear (east) elevation in 1906, when the Mount Pickle Company remodeled the property for their processing purposes. The addition, which effectively doubled the size of building, was constructed of nearly identical brick as the original structure and with similar muted Victorian details in the shapes and sizes of window openings and their arched lintels.

A small platform is present along the south elevation of the building. This platform appears to have been original to the first structure, the Grant Soap Company, as it appears on the 1898 Sanborn map. The platform paralleled the adjacent railroad spur and may have served for loading and unloading train cars with supplies and finished products. Historical photographs suggest the current awning over the platform was constructed sometime between 1936 and 1977.

The commercial building at 741 South 400 West was constructed ca. 1894 by the Grant Soap Company, which was owned by Heber J. Grant and his family. Grant would later become the seventh president of the LDS Church. Grant reportedly lost a large sum of money in the economic crash of 1893, and the soap company appears to have suffered from a lack of ongoing investment. Around 1903, the company closed down, and the property of the factory was sold to Arthur Goshen, who appears to have leased the property to the Mount Pickle Company as early as 1905. Mount Pickle began remodeling it for their purposes in January 1906; the remodel was estimated to cost $50,000 (Salt Lake Tribune, January 21, 1906). Mount Pickle obtained title to the property in May 1911.

Mount Pickle operated the factory on 400 West until roughly 1911, when it was bought out by the Capital Pickle; it appears the formal sale of the property wasn't completed until around 1922. By 1920, Goddard Packaging Company was operating out of the building, and by 1928 it was under the ownership of the Utah Pickle Company. Utah Pickle took out a large mortgage/loan in 1940, likely for remodeling the factory. In 1972, Utah Pickle sold the property to the American Barrel and Cooperage Company, which sold it to Walter J. Plumb, III et al. in 1979. The property changed hands several other times during the modern era, ending up under the current property owner Domain Properties, LLC.

Utah Vinegar and Pickle Company

1896-1910

Ogden, Weber County

December 31, 1899
"The Utah Vinegar & Pickle works has grown to considerable proportions during the past year. During the season just closed about 500 tons of cucumbers, cabbage, cauliflower and horseradish were consumed, the plant turning out about six cars of pickles and three cars of vinegar per month, besides sauer kraut, cider and table delicacies. Edward Bichsel is proprietor of the concern, which employs twelve men." (Salt Lake Herald, December 31, 1899)

(An ad in the December 23, 1899 issue of the Salt Lake Herald, shows the Utah Vinegar & Pickle Works at 2454 Wall Avenue in Ogden)

December 30, 1900
"The Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works is an establishment owned by Mr. Edward Bischel, which does a thriving business. The output of the factory averages two cars of pickles and one car of vinegar per month, then men being employed in the average throughout the year. In the manufacture of pickles an average of 200 tons of cucumbers, thirty tons of cabbage, ten tons of cauliflower and ten tons of onions are used." (Salt Lake Tribune, December 30, 1900)

December 21, 1901
"This concern purchased this year from Weber County farmers 225 tons of cucumbers, 45 tons cabbage, 6 tons cauliflower, 5 tons onions, 3 tons horse-radish root, 20 tons green tomatoes. Their output was 38 cars of pickles, 12 cars of vinegar, 5 cars sauerkraut, one car horse-radish, 5 cars cider." (Ogden Standard Examiner, December 21, 1901)

October 10, 1905
"From a small and modest beginning in 1896, the Utah Vinegar and Pickle works, located at 2454 Wall avenue, have grown to be a large plant and an important factor in the manufacturing industries of Utah. The factory consists of a three-story brick building, in dimensions 75x150 feet. Mr. Edward Bischsel is the enterprising founder and present proprietor of the business. His manufactures consist of malt and apple vinegar, sweet cider, sour kraut, mince meat, horseradish, honey, pickles and catsup, olives and other products in the way of pickles, sauces and condiments. Farmers of Weber and Davis counties have found ready market for their produce at these works and the pickle factory last year alone consumed 200 tons of cucumbers, 50 tons of cabbage, 10 tons of cauliflower, 10 tons of onions, 10 tons of horseradish and other things in proportion. The products are sold throughout Utah and all over the west." (Daily Utah Journal, October 10, 1905)

May 10, 1909
The Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works, and the nearby pickle works of George Lucas two blocks to the north were shut down by Ogden City due to concerns about the acetic acid products being imported from Chicago and used in the companies' pickling process. The state pure food commission took issue with the unsafe concentration of sulfuric acid in the imported product. This type of imported acetic acid, made from wood, was different from the acetic acid used in the pickling process of other producers, including those in Salt Lake City. The differences were based on cost, with the imported product costing 3 cents per gallon, and grain-fermented vinegar costing 15 cents per gallon, and pure cider vinegar costing 60 cents per gallon. One barrel of acetic acid made eight barrels of vinegar. Small amounts of cider vinegar could be added to enhance the flavor, and brown sugar or molasses could be added to enhance the color, in both cases simulating the more expensive vinegar made from pure cider. The two pickling works would be allowed to remain open if they changed the source for their acetic acid and vinegar, but their owners reported that their costs would increase significantly and they would no longer be competitive with the Salt Lake City producers. (Ogden Standard Examiner, May 10, 1909; May 11, 1909)

March 22, 1910
The state food inspector confiscated a shipment of "a dozen" barrels of pickles from the Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works after finding unacceptable amounts of "impure ingredients" in violation of the state's pure food law. The impure ingredients had been used in preparing the brine in which the pickles had been shipped. The brine had been sweetened with saccharine. A second shipment was confiscated in Provo in late March when the same ingredients were found. (The Daily Standard, March 22, 1910; Deseret News, March 23, 1910; Salt Lake Tribune, March 23, 1910; Salt Lake Herald, March 23, 1910; Deseret News, March 24, 1910; Salt Lake Herald, April 1, 1910)

April 13, 1910
The Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works business was sold to G. W. Goddard and J. C. Rose, and the factory building leased to them by Edward Bischel. (Ogden Standard Examiner, April 14, 1910, "yesterday")

April 14, 1910
After selling his business to another company, the owner of Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works, Edward Bischsel, announced that he would go into the real estate business, selling 100 building lots in Ogden. The other company was owned by G. W. Goddard and J. C. Rose of Salt Lake City, which would lease Bischsel's former factory after remodeling and expanding the facility. The new company would be called Rose Preserving Company. (Ogden Standard Examiner, April 14, 1910, two news articles)

April 24, 1910
Rose Preserving Company filed its articles of incorporation in Utah on April 24, 1910, with James C. Rose as president and George W. Goddard as vice president. The purpose was to take over the Utah Vinegar and Pickle Works of Ogden. (Salt Lake Herald Republican, April 24, 1910)

(Continues with Rose Preserving Company)

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