LOOKBACK: Midnight blaze in 1896 nearly devastates Hormel
Original packing house along Cedar River saved by firefighters
On a July 1896 morning, George A. Hormel arrived at his packing house along the Cedar River to find his meat wagon missing a wheel.
This apparent theft was reported in local newspapers but the stress of that crime would be swamped five days later when a midnight blaze significantly damaged Hormel’s meatpacking facilities. Opened in late 1891, the plant was housed in an old creamery along the backwaters above Austin’s downtown dam.
“A Midnight Blaze at Geo. A. Hormel & Co’s. Packing House Calls Out the Fire Boys,” read the Austin Daily Herald headline July 30, 1896.
Fire broke out in Hormel’s smokehouse before flames expanded to the “work house” that joined the plant’s main, brick structure. About 4,000 pounds of “choice hams and meats” were badly damaged by smoke and flames as part of an overall loss estimated at $1,900 (more than $70,000 today).
“It was in this wing where the flames were playing dire havoc when the alarm sounded a few minutes after midnight,” the Herald wrote.
Responders arriving first immediately formed a bucket brigade — like a human chain — to efficiently get water to the fire. Along with the help of a small stream from the engine room, the firefighters kept flames down for a short period before the water gave out.
“And it then looked as though the whole establishment would go up in smoke.”
Men called “fire laddies” kept working hard to reach Hormel’s plant from the city’s water mains as — at the time — Hormel’s plant was across the railroad from nearby neighborhoods.
At 12:45 a.m., firefighters got a stream of water going on the flames, finally subduing the blaze before it reached rooms where Hormel stored meats of a “combustible nature.”
“Had the fire gotten headway in that part of the building, it would have been beyond control.”
Hormel spoke to the Herald later that morning about his losses.
“This is the time of the season when the packing house is reaping its harvest, and had the fire gained further headway, his loss would have been a heavy one,” the Herald wrote.
More than a month later, the Herald was describing him as “Mayor Hormel” because, as a city council alderman at-large, Hormel was going to serve as Austin’s “acting mayor” while Mayor F.I. Crane spent time in the Twin Cities.
“’Twill Be Mayor Hormel” was the Herald headline Aug. 31, 1896, for a story that noted Hormel would “look after the wants of the people” during the real mayor’s absence.
“In sending your complaints, you will find Mayor Hormel over the telephone at №100 or at the packing house,” the Herald wrote.
Soon after, Hormel gave a gift to the Excelsior Hose Company №2 for “services rendered at the recent packing house fire.”
A month later, Hormel was investing $7,000 (nearly $250,000 today) for an addition to his packing house to house a new refrigerator, which he considered a “necessity and not a luxury.”
This would enable Hormel to process 500 hogs daily, with the refrigerator guaranteed to hold 36 degrees even in the hottest weather.
“There is one institution in Austin that has found it necessary during the past year owing to increasing business to make a number of necessary improvements,” the Herald wrote Oct. 8, 1896.
This three-story, 2,400-square-foot addition with brick walls 17 inches thick connecting to Hormel’s main, brick building.
Built on “immense footing stones,” this cold-storage building with refrigeration was predicted to make Hormel’s packing house one of the most “completely equipped” outside of the Twin Cities. Fresh beef could be stored for weeks.
“We congratulate Manager Hormel upon the rapid success of the institution.”
