Fairmont Creamery Then and Now

203 Maple Street

My grandmother was the person who told me about the Fairmont Creamery. She took me over to Maple Street and showed me where the old rail siding had been paved over with concrete. I couldn’t believe there were railroad tracks in the middle of the street. By that time, the massive Fairmont complex was extremely dilapidated and it was difficult to imagine what had been.

The south side of Maple between First and Second Avenues was home to a series of flimsy wood structures until after the turn of the 20th Century. A saloon was replaced by a feed mill and the rest of the block was dotted with tiny dwellings, sometimes punctuated by a tent here and there. Outhouses were positioned near the alley to the south.

Dodge City Poultry and Egg Company was purchased by the new partnership of Paden, Thompson, and Buckley in February of 1921. The company planned to build a new facility as soon as they could find a suitable location.

Lots were purchased just east of the Woolwine and Connaway Transfer Company, which was located at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Maple Street. Construction finally began in January of 1923 on a two-story facility costing approximately $30,000.

The 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows Paden-Thompson Produce Company at 211 – 215 Maple Street. The main building was mostly brick and the complex also had separate frame structures for the office and storage. A wooden dock was added along the new rail siding which ran through the alley. A large creamery addition was built in the Spring of 1927 at a cost of $75,000.

The Paden-Thompson Produce Company merged with Omaha’s Fairmont Creamery Company in August of 1929 with plans for even greater expansion.

An open house was held at the facility covering 52,300 square feet on August 30, 1930.

In addition to processing poultry, Fairmont also produced milk, butter, ice cream, and cottage cheese.

The 1932 Sanborn shows the expanded fire-proof facility stretching from 205 to 215 Maple Street. Poultry was housed on the top floor with windows and a raised ceiling.

These flood photos from the 1940s show the southeast side of the Fairmont facility when they used what became the Casterline elevator as a feed mill.

Fairmont Creamery Company became Fairmont Foods Company around 1947 to reflect the company’s expanded offerings.

This photo from June of 1965 shows the Fairmont building standing tall east of Second Avenue.

After the flood of 1965, the area along Second Avenue where the transfer company had been located was used as Fairmont’s loading lot.

Steffen Dairy Foods Company bought the Fairmont facility in the Fall of 1979.

Steffen vacated the plant and listed it for sale in 1982. The property changed hands a few times but it was built for a specific purpose and bringing it up to code would have been virtually impossible.

The loading area finally hosted a used car lot for Co-Ed Motors beginning around 1988.

The vacant Fairmont Creamery facility was demolished by Gladden Excavating, Inc. in February of 1995.

A new NAPA Auto Parts building was constructed on the lot around 2008. It’s a metal building positioned right up against the narrow sidewalk, most of which appears to be the old driveway for the loading docks.

This is how the site of the imposing Fairmont Creamery looks today:

I agree that the Fairmont facility probably needed to be demolished. It would have been great to see a replacement which complemented the historic neighboring structures but I fully understand the financial considerations. That doesn’t mean I have to like them.

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