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The History Of Livestock Hotels
HEATHER CONROW
FULTON, MO.
The era of big stockyards in the United States began with the opening of the Chicago Union Stock Yards on Christmas Day 1865. The marketing strategies represented a welcomed new beginning to a nation torn by civil war and ready for healing. Most markets operated in big cities at locations collectively called “the stockyards.” The stockyards generally referred to the entire area in a city where all participants in the process, including the stockyard company, meat-packing facilities, commission agents and dealers, and railroad officials, came together to do business. A president of the Wichita Union Stock Yards once described the stockyards as a “hotel for livestock.” “For instance, we rent ‘em a room-a pen; if they want to eat, we feed them. We furnish branding service as a hotel furnishes a manicure; we have a veterinarian on duty, offering a complete service, just like a hotel employs a house physician.” Here is a brief history of four major “livestock hotels” in Missouri.
St. Louis – During the Civil War about the only St. Louis industry that did not suffer was the growing meat-packing trade. Once the war ended a stock receiving and shipping center was built in St. Louis. However, there was no railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi to the city on the west bank. Producers on the west side of the river would have had to put their cattle on a ferry in order to reach the market. Due to railroad access, the developers chose land to the east on the Illinois side of the river. This 400 acre site was called the St. Louis National Stockyards and was made possible with the investment of $1 million. The complex included $150,000 Allerton House Hotel (later called National Hotel), restaurant, warehouses, a fertilizer plant, and 5,000 pens paved with white oak planks. The stockyards opened on November 19, 1873. During the first full year of operation in 1874 the stockyards received 234,002 cattle and calves, 498,840 hogs, 41,407 sheep, and 2,235 horses and mules. By the 1930s, St. Louis ranked second among the top terminal livestock markets in the country. However, after World War II market declines and shifts of sales to country auctions and feedlots made livestock receipts shrink. In 1972, the yards shrunk to 100 acres with plans of a 640-acre industrial park to occupy the remaining property. The barn still handled 2 million animals per year.
Kansas City – During the mid-1860s five acres were mapped off for livestock trading and 11 animal pens were built but that number was quickly tripled. In 1871 officials organized the first independent stockyards company called the Kansas Stockyards Company, with the new facility constructed on 26 acres. The name was changed to Kansas City Stock Yards Company in 1876. On June 1, 1903 a huge flood ruined the exchange building and washed out a large portion of the yard. A new exchange building (the tallest in the world) was built in 1911. A fire on October 16, 1917, leveled more than half the yard area, killing 11,000 cattle and 6,000 hogs. After the rebuilding and expansion, the yards covered over 200 acres and had become the largest stocker and feeder market in the world. Another fire in 1950 and a devastating flood in 1951 damaged the market extensively. A new ultramodern auction pavilion was opened on March 5, 1970, seating 500 people. However, livestock receipts at the stockyards declined to 400,000 during the 1980s. The owners auctioned their equipment and held their last sale of 150 cattle in September 1991. A 120-year-old “grand old terminal market” shut down.
St. Joseph – St. Joseph began in 1843 at the site of an old trading post. Citizens organized the St. Joseph Union Stock Yards during the 1870’s with only 24,616 animals going through during the first year. However, by 1880 the yard recorded the arrival of 20,592 cattle, 102,150 hogs, and 5,990 sheep. With these numbers they quickly out grew the facility. The St. Joseph Stock Yards Company opened in December 1887 on 413 acres. The St. Joseph market averaged 500,000 animals per year in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1935 St. Joseph was ranked as the 8th largest cattle market in the country. During World War II receipts increased considerably, however, following the war receipts began a slow decline. St. Joseph remains one of two stockyards still owned by Canal Capital, a giant stockyard holding company.
Joplin – During the early 1930s, 42 businessmen in Joplin pooled their money and built a stockyard to create more economic activity in their community. They were hoping to attract cattle from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas. On the opening day, August 31, 1931, they indeed had cattle from all three states. The Joplin Stock Yards built a new facility on U.S. Highway 66 and U.S. Highway 71, making it accessible to the Missouri Pacific Railroad and five other rail lines. When the facility opened, it immediately became the 3rd largest livestock market in Missouri with a capacity of 9,000 animals of all types. During the first five years of business they handled over 1 million animals and paid over $15 million to area farmers, even during the midst of the Great Depression. In 1946 gross sales totaled $10,385,550. The stockyards received 72,658 cattle, 43,605 hogs, 25,859 sheep, and 2,933 horses and mules. In July 1995, Joplin closed its outdated facility and built new yards 15 miles away in Carthage. In 2001, the Joplin Regional Stockyards handled 498,000 animals, making it the nation’s 2nd largest auction market.
The era of big stockyards in the United States began with the opening of the Chicago Union Stock Yards on Christmas Day 1865. The development of modern methods of slaughtering and freezing meat, as well as better transportation and communication technology has caused the abandonment of the century-old system. Producers are now able to market their cattle directly to feedlots and no longer need large stockyards to market their cattle. Even though auctioneers have said their last “sold” at many of the original stockyards, smaller livestock hotels remain around the country still housing guests. ∆
HEATHER CONROW: Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri
Kansas City Stockyards, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Early picture of E. St. Louis Stock Yards, later the National City Stock Yards courtesy of
Sometimes Interesting.com. The National City Stock Yards encompassed 650 acres
and at its peak was capable of processing 30,000 cattle, 50,000 hogs, and 20,000 sheep daily.
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