Valley Fruit Company

During the height of its activity, the Valley Fruit Company in Pharr, Hidalgo County, Texas, was the world's largest grapefruit packing and shipping company. Built in 1947, the facility expanded in the 1950s to include vegetable processing and became the Valley Fruit and Vegetable Company, one of the largest agricultural packing facilities under one roof. The plant and its components covered approximately 111,000 square feet and included refrigerated storage and packing equipment. Valley Fruit and Vegetable Company employed as many as 1,500 people, making it not only the largest agri-business employer but the biggest employer of any kind in South Texas. The economic impact of the facility changed the population demographic for this area of Texas, drawing migrant workers to the state. The building illustrates the growth and development of both the fruit and vegetable packing industries and the company's innovations in the citrus industry from its inception until its closure. Its construction type is distinctive and reflects trends and innovation in the industry. The Valley Fruit Company complex meets Criterion A in the area of Commerce as a facility that exemplifies the development of the citrus and vegetable business in the mid-20th century. It also meets Criterion C in the area of Architecture, recognizing the significance of the wood lamella truss roofs that span huge areas in the primary building.

Early 20th Century Agriculture in the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Through the early 20th century, the Lower Rio Grande Valley was a semi-arid alluvial delta that supported ranching since the area was settled by Spain in the middle of the 18th century. When the United States acquired the area in the mid-19th century, ranching continued exclusively until four significant events changed the economy: the coming of the railroad; the installation of approximately thirty irrigation systems drawing water from the Rio Grande; the development of twenty-acre farm lots; and the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution. With the arrival of the railroad in 1904, land developers and agricultural entrepreneurs began to construct irrigation canals (such as the Louisiana-Rio Grande Canal Company system) to draw water from the Rio Grande. This led to the transformation of Hidalgo County from a sparsely populated, brush and mesquite-covered ranchland to a booming truck farm and citrus growing oasis, serving national and international markets. To secure an adequate supply of water, farmers organized irrigation districts and purchased financial systems from the developers. By 1920, only four privately owned systems, including the Louisiana-Rio Grande Canal Company remained.

With irrigation systems in place, the region attracted an influx of farming interests from the north. Among those who ventured to the valley in 1905 were H.N. Pharr, a sugar grower from Louisiana, and John Kelley, a real estate developer from Waco. Pharr and his brothers John and Eugene were prominently identified with Louisiana sugar interests, having continued the business their father, former Louisiana governor J. N. Pharr, established. At the same time, the company prepared to subdivide approximately 40,000 acres served by the canal company into 20 or 40-acre farm lots for sale to the "home seekers." In 1910, Texas' nascent citrus industry was eclipsed by other states: growers in California produced 7.4 million boxes of oranges and 76,408 boxes of grapefruits, while growers in Florida produced 336,240 boxes of oranges and 40,196 boxes of grapefruit. Hidalgo County, whose agricultural economy would eventually hinge on its citrus orchards, counted only 232 orange trees that produced only two boxes of oranges. Although the Lower Rio Grande Valley would one day be famous for its Ruby Red grapefruit, grapefruit production was so minimal in 1910 that grapefruit figures were not recorded for either Hidalgo or Cameron counties. Only 488 boxes of grapefruit were produced in the entire state of Texas that year.

Grapefruit soon became an important Texas product and by 1925, grapefruit accounted for as much as 80 percent of the Lower Valley citrus harvest. The 1925 agricultural census shows Hidalgo County with 1,172 farms growing oranges (62,381 trees not of bearing age and 22,847 of bearing age), 911 farms growing lemons (5,530 trees not of bearing age and 6,190 of bearing age), 1,220 farms growing grapefruit (140,952 grapefruit trees not of bearing age and 78,965 of bearing age). Hidalgo County figures accounted for one-third of the state's orange trees, nearly half of the state's grapefruit, and almost 60 percent of its lemon trees. The 1930 census showing agricultural products for the previous year shows that Hidalgo County came close to matching California's grapefruit production. Hidalgo County harvested 301,614 boxes of grapefruit in 1929 while San Bernardino, California boxed 371,513 grapefruit the same year; further, Hidalgo County more than doubled Florida's production of grapefruit. Hidalgo County still lagged in orange production as California's production doubled Hidalgo County's. San Bernardino, California remained the undisputed orange producer with 8.5 million boxes packed in 1929. Still, Hidalgo County met and exceeded its early promoter's predictions.

In the late 1920s, "Red-Meat Grapefruit" - a fruit well suited to the region's saline-alkaline soil - was introduced. A.E. Henninger acquired a U.S. Patent for the product, and named his variety "Ruby Red." By 1932, Texas had 7.8 million producing citrus trees, most of them in Hidalgo, Cameron, and Willacy counties. Surplus and a poor fresh fruit market during the Great Depression pushed Lower Valley growers to expand into the processing of grapefruit and orange juices, and fruit processing grew into one of the dominant industries in the region. Valley Fruit Co., meanwhile, continued to press its fresh-pack operation, convinced that the economic downturn of the Great Depression could be short-lived.

Origins and Growth of the Valley Fruit Company

J.H. Williams, one of the founders of Valley Fruit Co., was probably among the home seekers who moved onto one of the 40-acre farm lots being sold by the Louisiana-Rio Grande Canal Company, although Hidalgo County property records are unclear as to what parcel actually belonged to Williams. Williams moved to Texas from Detroit circa 1923, with his wife, Ivy Weir-Williams, and stepson, Roy Weir. Williams and Weir established the Valley Fruit Company in 1928 in a small garage in Pharr. The business relocated in 1935 to a warehouse packing shed at the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and the St. Louis Brownsville & Mexico Railway (St.L.B&M). Anticipating the need for more space as the business increased, Williams purchased a 14-acre lot on North Cage in 1939.5 The newly-acquired site was just three blocks north of the packing shed built by Williams in 1935, but the company remained close to Pharr's downtown business district, near support businesses and also strategically adjacent to the two major truck routes: U.S. Highway 281 and U.S. Highway 83.

In 1939 Valley Fruit Company was shipping hundreds of railroad car loads of citrus under the following labels and brand names: Gold Mine Texas Citrus Fruit; More Gold; Grand Prize; Grandstand; and Better 'N Ever Texas Pink Grapefruit." Valley Fruit Company's registered trademark, service mark, and slogan was "Texas Flavor Sealed Grapefruit and Oranges." In 1940, Williams and his wife sold the title to the North Cage property to Roy Weir. For the next six years, the site would sit idle and the expansion plans were temporarily shelved with the onset of the United States' entry into World War II. Although the international citrus market was almost non-existent, stateside demand for the commodity escalated and the post-war era stimulated a great demand for the produce of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Valley Fruit Co. was poised to take advantage of the greatly expanded marketplace."

By 1947, the company had grown to the point that it was no longer possible for it to remain at its original location. Weir sold the North Cage property to the Valley Fruit Company, by then a legal partnership composed of himself, his mother Ivy, and Williams. Construction immediately began on a state-of-the-art packing shed built by Noser Construction Company. The original building consisted of 92,000 square feet of floor space, with 40,000 square feet designed to handle the grading, processing, and shipping of hundreds of railcar loads of citrus annually. Following the disastrous freezes of 1949 and 1951, it became necessary to supplement the citrus business with tomato and carrot packing, requiring an addition to the facility. The tomato and vegetable sheds were built in 1954 and 1956, south of the fruit packing shed. By 1957, the complex had reached its full development, encompassing approximately 111,000 square feet of warehouse, packing shed, and office space. The agricultural processing plant required an 89-foot free span for the main central production area housing numerous assembly lines. This resulted in a unique plant facility for the South Texas region.

Significance in the Area of Commerce

At the height of its activity in the late 1940s, Valley Fruit Company was one of the world's largest packing and shipping companies and it dominated the worldwide grapefruit market. The processing and selling of the regional citrus and vegetable crops was a primary factor in the Lower Valley economy and affected the livelihood of thousands of migrant workers, farmers, processors, and business owners. At its height Valley Fruit and Vegetable Company employed 1,500 people, making it not only the largest agri-business employer but the biggest in South Texas. The Valley Fruit Company facility demonstrates the evolutionary growth of both the agricultural industry and the company from its inception, through its expansion, to its end nearly seven decades later.

Gathering of the fruit was labor intensive. Picking crews organized by truck owners would work under contract with the packing sheds such as Valley Fruit Co. In the early years of the industry, migrant labor from Mexico provided work at a low cost. Intensive growing of fruit and vegetables required an abundance of manual labor, which coincided with an influx of manpower from Mexico by those fleeing the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s. The largest arrival of Mexican nationals began in 1914 and peaked around 1920. Those fleeing the country mainly found jobs as field workers. While many were able to make a decent living, others struggled financially, barely able to make ends meet. Those who were able to save a portion of their earnings were able to purchase farm trucks and were hired as harvesters. A few were able to move into authoritative positions with the packing companies."

Toward the end of the 1930s and into the early 1940s, demands for farm labor increased and the United States established the Emergency Labor Program, popularly known as the Bracero Program. The agreement between the U.S. and Mexican governments allowed Mexican manual laborers to enter the United States to replace American workers who joined the armed forces during World War II. Braceros, whose name derived from the Spanish word brazo (arm), worked in the important fruit and vegetable industry in South Texas, and elsewhere in the country. Thousands of Mexican nationals and Tejanos worked in the fields, the packing houses and shipping warehouses, and elsewhere in the Lower Valley. It's estimated more than 20,000 Mexican citizens were involved in the bracero program in South Texas (the region from El Paso to San Antonio, southward to the Rio Grande Valley). Many of those who lived in the northwestern and eastern sections of Pharr continued to work in the fields or the packing houses and helped contribute to the economic growth of the citrus industry, particularly at the Valley Fruit and Vegetable Company, and the development of the city of Pharr.

While the citrus industry prospered, Hidalgo County farmers also produced bumper crops of alfalfa and cotton during the late 1940s. In 1948, for instance, Hidalgo County was the leading county in the United States in cotton production and harvested a good share of the regional $100 million citrus and vegetable crop." By the end of the 1940s, though, citrus reigned as the undisputed king of the county, nearly three decades of uninterrupted summer came crashing down in the winter freeze of 1949. Not only did most agricultural interests suffer, the thriving business of Valley Fruit Company was broken up by the disastrous freezes of 1949 and 1951 which resulted in the near-destruction of the citrus orchards in South Texas. The freezes killed seven of nine million producing grapefruit and orange trees in the Valley."

The economic devastation prompted Valley Fruit Company to temporarily relocate to Florida while the South Texas orchards recovered. The economic impact of the freeze also resulted in Valley Fruit Company's diversification into the tomato, and carrot markets and a new name: The Valley Fruit and Vegetable Company. The partnership included Weir, Dan Seitz Sr., Rudy Ogden, and Dick Eubanks. The company built the tomato and carrot shed adjacent to the citrus shed. The addition was of the same design and increased the floor space by 19,000 square feet." Valley Fruit and Vegetable Company became one of the largest agricultural packing facilities under one roof in the world. The plant and its components covered approximately 111,000 square feet and include refrigerated storage and packing equipment." The economic lessons company officials learned from the 1949 and 1951 freezes and the need for diversification prompted the company to build a cotton gin on the North Cage Blvd. property. The Rio Grande Valley was at that time one of the country's largest cotton-producing regions. In 1951, 627,549 bales were produced. While Rio Grande Valley cotton farmers were successful for several years, eventually the higher production costs for growers and the competition from the global markets forced many cotton farmers out of business. Plummeting prices and steadily declining acreage forced the closure of the cotton gin in 1958. Some of the original equipment and the gin building remain at the property. Today, however, there are only one or two operating cotton gins in South Texas."

The Rio Grande Valley experienced another major freeze in 1983, which reduced the Valley's 75,000-acre citrus crop by about 50 percent. Five years later, Weir and Seitz Sr., retired and the younger Seitz acquired the company. In 1989, another freeze ravaged the Valley, decreasing citrus acreage to approximately 14,000 acres. With no citrus production for several years, the company again focused on vegetable packing and importing produce. In 2002, Valley Fruit and Vegetable Co. owner Dan Seitz decided to retire, and the company stopped operating as a commercial produce shipper. Seitz sold the company's customer list and auctioned the equipment, but he continued to sell gift fruit to individual buyers until the building was sold. In 2005, the Food Bank of the Lower Rio Grande Valley purchased the Valley Fruit Company complex and rehabilitated the building utilizing federal preservation tax credits.

Higher stateside production costs and lower-than-expected commodity prices have forced many of the smaller shippers and producers to close their doors for economic reasons. Some packers and producers began consolidating operations; some sold their interests to other companies. The effects of the consolidation and buyout by the conglomerates have resulted in five conglomerates controlling 80 percent of the agriculture business in the United States. The trend toward consolidation has also affected the production side of the agriculture market. It's estimated there are fewer than five citrus shippers and five vegetable shippers in the Rio Grande Valley. The economic base of the Valley has changed as land values increase, and farmers are faced with the situation of either staying in business and making less on their product or selling the acreage. More and more are choosing to sell the land to developers."

Significance in the Area of Architecture

The Valley Fruit Company building is architecturally significant for its extensive wood lamella roof systems on cast-in-place concrete frames that cover the large processing areas. To achieve a wide-span barrel-vaulted roof, the craftsmen and framers built the short interlocking segments of 2-inch thick wooden members diagonally, creating a diamond pattern ranging from 50 to 75 feet above the floor. The roof structure exhibits a highly ordered series of wooden components, forming a cohesive curved surface over the central production and assembling area. The lamella system (also known as a "quadripartite barrel vault") was used to achieve wide clear spans. Wood lamella roofs were also cost-effectively used instead of steel, reinforced concrete (thin slabs), or curved glulam frames.

Friedrich R. B. Zollinger, architect for the City of Dessau, Germany, first developed wood lamella roof structures in 1918 as a solution to the post-World War I housing crisis. First applied in workers' housing, the lamella design became widely used in schools, churches, and public halls. By the 1930s steel lamella roofs were utilized throughout Germany and England in aircraft hangars, factories, garages, ice rinks, sports arenas, and market halls. The lamella system was imported to the United States in 1925 and was used in a wide range of projects requiring a clear span and low cost. This compressive structure, still in its arch formation, was efficient in its ability to span large areas without interruption of vertical support; it still required a secondary system of buttresses or tie rods, however, to resist the horizontal thrust of the arch. The design was lauded for its low cost, the ease of its fabrication, and the simplicity of field construction with minimal need for formwork or scaffolding. The typical method of erection involved the construction of one bay at a time, in which the lamella network could be woven upward from a supporting sill beam. The process would continue from both sides of the span until each met at the apex of the desired arch. In early steel lamella systems, joints were fused by rivets; after 1950, bolts or field welds became more common. In the United States, the lamella system was typically executed in wood until the 1950s.

Beginning in the late 1940s, Buckminster Fuller promoted the design of uninterrupted enclosures using the geodesic dome (a related framing system based on equilateral triangles), but the lamella system was infrequently utilized and was generally overlooked in significant architectural publications such as the Museum of Modern Art's seminal Built in U.S.A: Postwar Architecture (1952). By mid-century, however, G.R. Kiewitt, an engineer working with Roof Structures, Inc., of Webster Groves, Missouri, endeavored to apply the basic system nationwide, and his efforts expanded the application of steel lamella systems in the U.S. Lamella units could differ in size and shape, as at the domed-roof formation of the 1957 Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena, Green Bay, Wisconsin (John Sommerville, architect); the buttress-free system at the 1950 National Orange Show Exhibition Center, San Bernadino, California, in which the barrel form was pulled down to ground level (Harwell Hamilton Harris, architect); and the Houston Astrodome (completed by Roof Structures, Inc., in 1965). A few smaller examples still stand in the South Texas area, including those at the Sam Houston School in Weslaco, and the old Gym at the Raymondville High School.

The impressive lamella roof structure seems to hover over the Valley Fruit Company processing areas, as it sits above a ribbon of clerestory windows that infill the space between vertical structural supports. The windows are placed behind the lowest bay of the interlocking diamond-patterned wood framing which, without any roof decking creates a lattice effect along both of the longitudinal lengths of the vault. The "lightening" effect of this lattice-look framework creates a sense that the roof structure is spreading its fingers and simply touching the load-bearing concrete beam that wraps around the perimeter of the main roof bay, while it is trusting its true weight and force onto the concrete framework beyond. Noser Lumber and Construction was the only company in South Texas that was granted the rights to use the patented German system. The concrete framework spans additional bays beyond the edge of the lamella roof structure along both long sides. The flanking bays are two-story high allowing for a mezzanine level to wrap along three sides of the central production area providing a supervisory view of the entire packing process.