Preservers of the Historic Ma & Pa Railroad
Preservers of the Historic Ma & Pa Railroad
The stone foundation is all that is left of the cannery built in 1903 by W. Scott Whiteford on land leased from A. M. Grove. The near end of the building was wide and two stories high. A narrower single story extension stretched along the railroad siding which is listed in railroad records as Canning House Spur. The extension had loading doors from which canned corn, beans, and tomatoes were loaded directly into freight cars.
Across a small stream from the cannery was a husking shed with both enclosed and open-air sections. When the cannery was in operation the stream between the husking shed and cannery was covered over and ran through terra-cotta pipes, so the prepared vegetables could be transferred directly to the main building for processing.
Even though canning was a seasonal business, canned food was a major traffic item for the railroad providing 12% of freight revenue in 1907.