Budlong Pickle Company facts for kids
The Budlong Pickle Company was a famous American business in Chicago. It made and sold pickles using cucumbers grown on its own farms. The company started in the late 1850s. It was sold in 1958 to another company. This company later became part of Dean Foods.
Today, the Budlong name lives on with a restaurant in Chicago. It is called "The Budlong Hot Chicken." This restaurant started in 2015. It was even located where the old Budlong farm used to be.
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Chicago's Food History
In the 1800s, Chicago was a very important city for American farming. The Union Stock Yards was the main place for meatpacking. The Chicago Board of Trade helped fund farming businesses.
Chicago was also a big center for making pickles. This was because the city had lots of salt. It also had a great railroad system. These railroads made it easy to move products.
The Budlong family was from Rhode Island. They were already well-known farmers and pickle makers. They had a large farm in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Starting the Budlong Company
In the late 1850s, Lyman A. Budlong (1829–1909) started a huge farm in Chicago. This area is now called Budlong Woods. His farm was named the Budlong Nursery. Lyman first came to Chicago in 1857. So, the Nursery must have started in 1857 or soon after.
The "Village of Glass"
The Nursery was nicknamed the "village of glass." This was because it had many greenhouses. It grew lots of cucumbers, onions, and other vegetables. It also grew beautiful flowers.
The farm was about 700 acres (2.8 square kilometers) in size. The main part of the farm was near California and Foster Avenues. This is in the Budlong Woods area of Chicago's Lincoln Square.
World's Largest Pickle Farm
The Budlong Pickle Company started around 1857 or 1859. It was first part of the same business as the Nursery. In 1903, the Chicago Tribune newspaper called Budlong's the largest pickle farm in the world. By 1928, it was called "one of the largest pickle factories in the world."
The company sold about 100,000 bushels of pickled cucumbers each year. This was during the late 1800s. In 1899, Joseph J. Budlong, Lyman's brother, invented a machine. This machine helped sort vegetables, especially pickles, by size.
The factory was located near Lincoln and Berwyn avenues. A special "pickle train" ran on the Chicago and North Western line. This train picked up the factory's employees. Many workers had moved to the United States from central and eastern Europe.
Lyman Budlong made a lot of money from his Nursery. He had reportedly earned at least $1.5 million by the time he passed away in 1909.
Later Years and Sale
George L. Hathaway was the president of Budlong for a long time. In 1945, he received an award. It was from the National Pickle Packers Association. He was honored for being fair when getting pickles for the armed forces.
Budlong also had operations in other states. They were in Columbia, Mississippi, by 1936. They also had a place in Ora, Indiana, by 1940.
In 1958, the Budlong Pickle Company joined with another food company. This company was based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It also specialized in pickles. This combined company was later bought by Dean Foods.
The Budlong Name Today
The original Nursery and Pickle Company no longer exist. However, a restaurant in Chicago has taken on the Budlong name. The Budlong Hot Chicken was started in 2015. It was founded by Jared Leonard. Today, it has five locations in Chicago.
