Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, & Edible Fats Factory, 2801 Southwest Fifteenth Street, Oklahoma City

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The Wilson rs Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory are historically significant to Oklahoma City and the state for one primary reason they are the last remaining remnants of the packing plant complex originally built in Oklahoma City in and In terms of commerce and trade, that complex made Oklahoma City a major meat packing center of the nation. And unti1 Tinke r Air Force Base was completed during WW II, the packing plants were the single largest employers in the state, adding considerable fuel to the engines of Industry. Today, the Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory are all that remain of that original complex.

Historical Information

Date of Cons t ruetIon: 191 1 Architect: Unknown (blueprints indicate it was designed by coiapany architects) Cons truet ion: Schwartzchild and Sulzberger crews out of Chicago. Historical Narrative: In Oklahoma City was locked in urban rivalry with the state capital, Guthrie, and a handful of ambitious young cities such as Muskogee, Tulsa, and Shawnee. All were booming, all had populations from to and all were trying to attract industry. To win this war Stanley Brock of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce sent flyers to every meat packing firm in the nation trying to attract them to his city. In representatives from Morris & Co. (later Armour) responded to the prospectus and decided to build a $3 million plant lust southwest of the city.

Construction began soon thereafter and the plant was opened in October of Meanwhile a second major packer, Schwartzchild and Sulzberger (later Wilson's) was inspecting Oklahoma City. After the Chamber Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory HAER No. OK-4 Page 2 of Commerce met their demands for a bonus and other concessions, work began on another new plant in July of When opened in October of the two packing plants and adjacent stockyards were employing almost 0 people with a capital investment of more than $6 million. With this major industry pumping money and jobs into Oklahoma City, the battle for urban supremacy was all but over. Oklahoma City was the state capital and the fastest growing city in the state and nation. The S. & S.

(Wilson's) Plant included more than 25-acres of floor space for the slaughter and processing of hogs and cattle. The largest buildings were the seven-floor beef slaughter house, the seven-floor beef cooler building, the seven-floor pork cooler building, and the seven-floor inedible tank house, where bones, horns, hoofs, and "sticks" were rendered into glue. Hogs also were killed on the top floor of that building.

(All of these buildings would be demolished and replaced by Next to these buildings were two smaller brick structures, the four-and-a half story Oil House and Lard Refinery 8 and 9), and the three-story Edible Fats Factory 7), The Oil House 8), which was separated from the Lard Refinery only by a fire wall, was "fully equipped with cooking kettles, receiving kettles, tanks, presses, and everything necessary for the rendering of high-grade beef fats and the manufacture of oleo oil." Under the same roof but on the other side of the fire wall was the Lard Refinery 9), which contained "rendering kettles, lard rolls, presses, and filters devoted to the manufacture of all kinds of lard and the refining of crude oil." This building was constructed with cast-iron support pillars, fc" x 12" wooden floor beams, yellow pine flooring, and a brick veneer.

Next door, just to the south, was the Edible Fats Factory (bide. 7) constructed with largely the sane specifications as the Oil House and Lard Refinery. Three stories tall, all floors in it apparently we re lined with brick. The building "was devoted to the rendering of edible beef and pork fats." Other structures included a three-story fertilizer building an^ several two-story buildings for shops, laundaries, stables, machine shops, and offices. (All of these would be torn down prior to The packing plants quickly became the largest single-site employers in the state, drawing even more industries, jobs, and capital investments to' Oklahoma City and the state.

By Oklahoma City's population had topped 10 and would approach by Much of this success was attributed to the packing plants, which from to accumulated impressive Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory HAER No. OK-4 Page 3 figures: million paid for livestock; $25 million paid in wages; $80 million paid for cotton oil; and another million earned by directly related enterprises. If one s ingle entity bad to be selected as "the" reason for Oklahoma City's boom years, it had to be the packing plants and related stockyards. have been the era when the 18) was built or modified). In Wilson's undertook an even more extensive redesign of the entire operation in Oklahoma City. They tore down many of the^ original structures and built new, more modern facilities.

In the old Oil House and Lard Refinery, they added a continuous deodorizer which made a major impact on operations. Each time a modern innovation was made, new pipes were added, utilization of floor space was changed, and the physical appearance of the structure continued to evolve. By the and the packing houses were under seige from smaller, more efficient operations. Armour, which had started as Morris & Co., was closed and completely demolished. Wilson's, which had started as S. & S., survived, but at the expense of closing all slaughter house operations. Instead, the company decided to concentrate on two operations meat processing and full-line refining.

Today, using a combination of old and new equipment, the refinery converts rendered meat fats and refined vegetable oils into added value products used by consumers, food service end users, bakeries, and industrial food processors. By the only three buildings remaining from the packing plant era were the old Oil House, the Lard Refinery, and the Edible Fats Factory. All had been radical ly altered inside and out, but the brick veneer was still intact, preserving a story of continual modernization and technical change. Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory HAER OK-4 Page 4

Architectural Information

Architectural Merit and Interest The three buildings of the Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory are only shadows of their original design. What has survived is unornamented, industrial brick construction designed for function, not aesthetics. Condition of Fabric Poor (to be demolished) Summary Description The Wilson's complex consists of three structures: the Oil House and Lard Refinery 8 and 9, which actually appear as one building from the exterior and will be treated as one building In this description) is a four-story brick building measuring approximately x the old Edible Fats Factory 7), a three -s to ry brick building also measuring approximately x and a one-story, non-historical wooden structure 18) connecting then.

The facades of both brick buildings are basically unadorned industrial. The only distinguishing features include rows of windows on all sides of the buildings (some are arched) and a half-story riser on the north and east sides of the northern-nost building The buildings have been extensively modified by successive industrial changes, especially in and New have been added, several windows have been sealed, and external pipes have been added on every side. On the south side of the s outhern-most building 7), a one-story brick and concrete block extension has been added, probably in the 196 0s. The brick is in poor condition, and in many places extensive repairs are needed.

Windows are in Poor condition, even though most have me tal fr ames and sashes (the original wooden windows probably were replaced in the upgrading). The small connecting structure 18) is faced with horizontal wooden siding, and appears to be of relatively modern construction. The interiors of the buildings have been changed even more. The original wooden floors and open troughs were removed in a n<\ replaced with concrete or brick floors and sewage pipes overhead. At that same time many of the original cast-iron supports were reinforced and enclosed in concrete, and many of the floors were reinforced with metal beams. In a few places the original cast-iron supports and wooden floor joists can still be seen.

In general, the interior is unfinished industrial with few distinguishing features. Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory HAER OK-4 Page 5 Detailed Description of Exterior 1. Foundation: Reinforced concrete 2. Wall Construct ion: Exterior walls are constructed with red brick, and lack any distinguishing ornamentation. 3. Structural System: The superstructure consists of cast-iron support posts 8", 7", and 6") with 14" x 16" horizontal wooden beams (Some reinforced concrete supports have been added during successive remodel lings). 4.

Openings, Doorways, and Windows: Because of extensive industrial alterations through the years, virtually every doorway has been changed since original cons truetion- Many windows have been closed, but a few still reveal the arched configurations of the original design. The building probably incorporated wooden frames and sashes, but today every exposed window is fitted with metal frames. All doors and windows are in poor condition, 5. Roof: The original roofs were flat with a slight drop to the exterior walls. They were originally topped with a tar and gravel surface. Detailed Description of Interior: 1. Floor Plans : All floors of the buildings were originally wide open, interrupted only by a firewall that separated the Oil House 8) from the Lard Refinery 9).

Along the central bays on either side of the fire wall were elevators which woulH lift raw materials (tallow and lard) to the hasher and melting vats located on the top floors. Otherwise, all floor space was used for various stages of the refining, packaging, and storage pro ce ss e s . 2* Flooring: Original floors were concrete on the ground level and wooden on the upper floors. All drained into open gutters located between each bay. During successive industrial changes, the floors were either converted to bricks or concrete. 3. Wall and Ceiling Finish: All walls are unfinshed brick and all support beams are exposed to the floor below. 4. Interior Trim: The interior has always been rough finished, with no extraneous trim. 5.

Hardware, Fixtures, Mechanical: All electrical and mechanical systems have undergone major changes during successive Industrial modernizations. There are no oringinal features remaining. Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory HAER OK-k Page 6 Site and Surroundings: The Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory are part of a larger industrial complex that also includes meat processing and marketing. All other structures, however, date from the and in no way reflect the architectural style of the old buildings. Until the early 19 when hog and cattle slaughtering operations were halted, the industrial complex also included an extensive slaughter house.

Within a few hundred feet is the Oklahoma National Stockyards, at one time the world's largest livestock market. When constructed, the entire complex was located about three miles west and a mile south of the central business district and along the banks of the North Canadian River. Today, the metropolitan area completely surrounds the Wilson's plant. SOURCES OF PROJECT INFORMATION Plans call for the demolition of the Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats Factory in the spring of This historical documentation, completed in March of 19 87 by historian Bob L. Blackburn, was prepared for the City of Oklahoma City. The recordation and photodocumentat ion conform with the standards of the Historic American Engineering Record, U.S. Department of the Interior. Sources Bob L.

Blackburn, The Heart of the Promised Land: An Illustrated History of Oklahoma County (Los Angeles: Windsor Publications, Roy Stewart, Born Grown: A History of Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City: Fidelity Bank, "50 Years in Oklahoma: The Past is Prologue," a snail booklet published by Wilson's in Blueprints of the Oil House and Lard Refinery in the possession of Harvey Baxter, Refinery Manager, dated Dec. 7, "Dedication of the Morris & Co. Plant," an article in the Daily Qklahoman, October 3, "Opening of the S. & S. Plant," an article in the Daily Qklahoman, October 8, This article elves a detailed description of the Wilson's plant at originally constructed.

Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, and Edible Fats XactQEy HAER OK-4 Page 7 A series of articles written by Gilbert Hill in the Daily Oklahoaan from October 7 to October 11, during the silver celebration of the plant's construction. Interviews with Harvey Baxter, Wilson's Plant Manager, Nov. 13, Dec. 8, and Dec. 9, Documentation completed by: Bob L. Blackburn, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Edible Fats Factory HAER 0K-4-A, OK-A-C Page % CO o a o 0> CU 4-) Ui CU TJ - ^ CH u c CO 03 <7\ c o a> u 0) X WJ cu u 3 r-( o o ex ^ X! -H ^ o > GO <w -H C GO C a) C to 0) w 4-t *H i-H C (0 CO a.

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