Fire Destroys Largest Creamery on the Pacific Coast
The Vancouver creamery, a $20,000 plant with a daily capacity of 150,000 pounds, was destroyed by fire on August 11. Owner George M. Weigle had recently revived the business.
The building and machinery of the Vancouver creamery, owned by George M. Weigle, was destroyed by fire August 11. The loss is estimated at $12,000; insurance $8,000. The origin of the fire is unknown. The creamery was the largest on the Pacific coast. It had a daily capacity of 150,000 pounds of milk and cream. It was built in the spring of 1893 by the Vancouver Creamery Company, of which J. C. Kaupisch was the official head and promoter. The plant, including the 10 acres upon which it was located, cost about $20,000. George M. Weigle, the present owner, assumed control of the plant about three months ago. Under his management the business has experienced quite a revival. It is not known what Mr. Weigle's intentions are in regard to rebuilding.
“The creamery was the largest on the Pacific coast. It had a daily capacity of 150,000 pounds of milk and cream.”
The loss of the Vancouver creamery was a major blow to the region's dairy industry, destroying the largest such facility on the Pacific coast. Today, as then, fire remains a devastating threat to industrial buildings and the livelihoods they support. The site on which it stood might now be redeveloped, but the memory of this disaster reminds us of the fragility of economic progress.
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