Marion Packing Co., Site of

Fulton Beach Rd. and Chaparral St.
Fulton

Year Marker Erected: 1976
Location: Fulton Beach Road and Chaparral Street, Fulton.

Marker Text:
The ruins of this rendering vat mark the location of the Marion Packing Co. (spelled "Meriam" in some records), one of the dozen or more meat packing plants built in the Rockport-Fulton area in the 1860s and 1870s to process the huge herds of range cattle that roamed Texas after the Civil War. Here beef was dried, salted, or pickled before shipping. The by-products such as tallow, hides, horns, and bones were sent to eastern factories. Like most of the coastal plants, Marion Packing Co. flourished until about 1880, when shipping cattle to northern markets proved more profitable. (1976)