Whether or not you’ve read Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” you’re likely familiar with the history of the meat packing industry in Chicago. Taking place alongside the rest of the American Industrial Revolution, this advancement in the way we produced and sold animal products changed the lives of our entire nation.
Of course, our first go at this industry so many years ago wasn’t as successful as it could have been. Sinclair’s novel brought attention to the horrendous work conditions suffered by employees as well as the disgusting ways our food was being processed. Scroll on for seven rare photos of the city during this time.
- This aerial photo of Armour & Company was taken around 1910. One of the five leading businesses in Chicago’s meat packing industry, it was founded in 1867.
Wikimedia Commons
- This photo from 1890 shows a long line of meat carcasses drying out at Armour & Company. Each lane stretches for half a mile.
Wikimedia Commons
- A producer of both meat and dairy products, Swift & Company was another south Chicago business that made it big. This photo was taken around 1917 and features the rail yard where products were brought in a shipped out.
Wikimedia Commons
- Inspectors for Swift & Company split backbones and check for problems with hogs ready to be butchered. The photo was taken in 1906, and this is most likely being done in anticipation of the Meat Inspection Act that would be signed into law later that year.
Wikimedia Commons/H. C. White Co
- Taken in 1907, this amazing vintage photo shows the elevated railway track. The shot was taken from the animal pens at the stockyards.
Wikimedia Commons/Chicago Daily News
- Taken in 1947, this photo is from well after changes were made to the meat packing industry. Here, you can see a maze of livestock pins at the Chicago Union Stock Yards.
Wikimedia Commons
- And just for fun, here is a photo of Upton Sinclair around 1910. Without him, you might still be eating meat that was nibbled by flies or left to sit out in a hot warehouse.
Flickr/The Library of Congress
For more blasts from the past, check out eight Chicago restaurants loaded with history.
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons/H. C. White Co
Wikimedia Commons/Chicago Daily News
Flickr/The Library of Congress
Do you have any rare photos of the meat packing industry in Chicago? Share your images with us in the comments below!
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