Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
January 27, 2002
By Freida Murphy
Vigo County Historical Society
Home Packing Co. shipped as far away as Asia, Europe
The Home
Packing Co. was founded in 1907 by John and Robert McFall, John L. Barbazette,
William W. Ray and Buena Vista Marshall. It served the Wabash Valley’s
livestock dealers and consumers for nearly 56 years.
In the beginning, the company at 400 N. First St. handled about 350 hogs each
week. Gradually expanding operations, the plant eventually covered two city
blocks. In peak years, it employed 400 people and processed about 8,000 hogs
and 500 cattle each week.
Hams, bacon and lard were shipped to nearly every state in the union as well as France, Holland, Germany, England, Puerto Rico, Japan and the Philippines. Cuba was buying millions of pounds of lard from this Terre Haute industry.
Some 225,000 pounds of smoked meats, 80,000 pounds of sausage and 40,000 pounds of bacon were shipped from the plant each week. The company had a fleet of its own trucks that covered a 165-mile radius from the plant.
At about 7 a.m. on January 2, 1963, an explosion caused by a natural-gas leak in the utility line demolished the plant, killing 16 and injuring 52. Among the fatalities was sales manager Donald Scott, brother of the president, Robert Scott.
This disaster occurred only 18 months after the completion of a three-year building and remodeling program. The plant was not rebuilt.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Web site: http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.