Historical Marker
Stokely-Van Camp, Inc.
Newport, Jefferson County · Tennessee
The company began with a mother's decision. Widowed at forty-four, Anna Rorex Stokely was left with five sons and three daughters and a farm with no good road to market. When her son James came home from college and suggested canning the farm's vegetables, she and her neighbor A. R. Swann each put in $1,300, and her sons the rest. She stayed at the center of the firm, welcoming salesmen at the store. In 1916 she and her son George died when their car stalled at a railroad crossing.
What the plaque says
Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. One-half mile south, on Seehorn Creek, the first Stokely Brothers cannery was built in 1898 with $3,900 invested by Colonel Alfred R. Swann, Anna Rorex Stokely, and her sons, James and John. In the 30-by-60-foot shed, 4,000 cases of tomatoes were canned that summer, hauled by wagon to a landing on the Stokely farm and shipped to market by boat. The Stokely Brothers canning operation grew to become one of America's largest companies with 4,500 full-time employees and almost $600 million in annual sales. Known for its canned pork-and-beans, Stokely-Van Camp was the first marketer of the sports drink, Gatorade. In 1983, the Quaker Oats Company purchased Stokely-Van Camp for $238 million.
Where it stands
36.02411, -83.30512 · Directions
More markers nearby
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