| What is known today as the Holly Sugar Plant was
originally built by James Hamilton and his Alta
California Beet Sugar Company in 1906. In 1908 the
company's name changed to Sacramento Valley Sugar Co. It
was sold in 1936 to Spreckels
Sugar Co., owner of Holly Sugar.
The Holly
Sugar company was founded in 1905 in Holly, Colorado.
Its founder, Kenneth Schley, liked the name Holly because
holly berries were traditional symbols of friendship and
good cheer. In 1988 Holly was bought by Imperial
Sugar. The Imperial Holly Corporation, as it was
called, bought Spreckles in 1996, and it is now the
largest sugar processor and refiner in the the country.
In 2005, the plant was sold to a Yuba City CA dried plum processor
and shipper. On Wednesday, August 16, 2006 demolition
of portions of the Holly Sugar Plant is slated to begin.
This may mean the end of rail activity at the plant and
along the Hamilton City Branch of the California Northern
Railroad.
|
A History of Hamilton City
A History of Holly Sugar or any of its
plants or corporate relatives
A California Northern Railroad site
A Southern Pacific Railroad site,
and its author is NOT an EXPERT on
anything.
|
