Connecticut Fat Rendering and Fertilizing Corporation

 







Connecticut Fat Rendering and Fertilizing Corporation was created in the 1900s to establish a cooperative where local butchers and meat market men would reduce the cost and dispose of unwanted animal byproducts during the processing of animals for human consumption. Starting with an initial capital of $50,000 and 2000 shares divided among the businessmen of the meat processing industry. This led to the funding and erection of the building which finally began operation in September 1903. Jacob W. Everett was the president of the company. The plant was primarily used for fat rendering creating byproducts such as glue, tallow, poultry feed, and fertilizer. Fat rendering recovers fats and proteins from otherwise discarded animal byproducts. 

Tallow is made up of the rendered suet of animal fat cooked down from the animal waste products such as the bones, head, feet, and organs. Poultry feed is made when the blood, feathers, soft meat, dead-on-arrival carcasses, and deboning tissue are rid of pathogens and infectious organisms by high heat, oil is separated and extracted and the dry material is ground into a powder suitable for bone meal, whole meal and other various types of meals for farm nutrition products. 













The factory continued operating until 1950 when it became vacant. That same year it was acquired by Connecticut Motor Lines, Inc., a New Haven trucking company that also went out of business in 1958 due to bankruptcy. The year I explored the site it was used for storing car and truck rubber tires in one building and empty and barren in others. No equipment or machinery was present in its past days as a meat fat processing facility. Only crude graffiti and various household junk were all that was left inside.

The site is currently being used as a construction aggregate material holding area.





















Current status: Demolished



Sources:

1. Brown, S. John, "Ground Water in the New Haven Area Connecticut", Connecticut State Geological & Natural History Survey

2. Mavitec Rendering, 'Poultry Rendering", Mavitec Rendering

3. Miller, Michelle, "Livestock 101: What is animal rendering?", AgDaily, February 2, 2022


Location: 239 Front Ave, West Haven, CT 06516, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

St. Michael and St. Edward Church: A Cornerstone of Fort Greene

Image
For weeks, I had been orbiting the perimeter of the impending demolition of the Church of St. Michael and St. Edward, a once revered church in the heart of Fort Greene, like a moth drawn to a flame. The neighborhood, a patchwork of tight project housing, seemed indifferent to the fate of this historic edifice. The intel I had received suggested that entry was as simple as scaling a wooden fence, yet the timing had never felt right. Until one day, it did. With a mission in New Jersey looming, I knew it was now or never. The demolition was advancing at a startling pace, the church's twin steeples already reduced to rubble. The skeletal remains of timber beams and rusted steel frames peeked out from the ruins, a testament to the relentless march of progress. Summoning a surge of courage, I seized a moment of quiet in the bustling housing project and vaulted over the fence. My heart pounded in my chest as I slipped unnoticed into the church grounds. The once grand entrance now stood as...
Read more

Hendey Machine Co.'s Historic Complex in Torrington

Image
  One warm day, J and I set off to explore an old mill he’d discovered some time ago. The place was hidden away and seemed ideal for the kind of photos we loved taking—rustic spaces with that raw, forgotten feel. We entered casually through the front, our cameras ready, aiming to capture as much as we could before moving on to the other buildings. About 20 minutes into our shoot, J’s voice broke the silence. “There’s a white truck out front.” He’d spotted it from the second-floor window. I joined him, snapping a few more pictures along the way, trying to stay calm. We figured maybe it was someone stopping by briefly. But just as I was getting my last shot in, I saw movement at the entrance. A man stepped inside, chatting on the phone. Alarmed, J and I ducked behind a wall, hearts racing. Before we knew it, three more people had joined him—a second man, a woman, and a small dog. We realized, with sinking dread, that it was the property owner, likely giving contractors a tour and get...
Read more

Queens Parkway Hospital

Image
The long-abandoned Queens Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills is finally set for demolition, marking the end of a saga that began over 15 years ago. Nestled in a bustling residential neighborhood off the busy Grand Central Parkway, near P.S. 196 elementary school, the hospital served the community for roughly four decades before shutting its doors in 2008. The closure was part of a broader initiative led by the New York State Commission on Healthcare Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission. The commission identified Parkway as one of several hospitals with an excess of unused beds, prompting the state’s Department of Health to mandate its closure. Despite a series of legal battles by the hospital’s owners to keep it open, the courts ultimately upheld the decision, sealing Parkway's fate. The hospital's troubles were further marred by scandal. Robert Aquino, Parkway’s CEO, and former State Senator Carl Kruger were both imprisoned after investigators reve...
Read more

Diner Dreams and Declines: The Kullman Dining Car Company

Image
  While exploring the area for a different site, I stumbled upon this abandoned property, marked by a large pile of household refuse and debris from commercial demolitions, improperly discarded. As night began to fall, I hesitated to venture inside alone. This caution might have been fortuitous, for on a subsequent visit to Newark, New Jersey, I discovered a makeshift bed crafted from an oversized couch. It seemed someone might be using this as a makeshift sleeping area, unwittingly inhaling potentially lethal chemicals not meant for human respiration. The entry to this forsaken place was through a semi-open truck loading dock, obstructed by a concrete barrier, presumably to halt further looting of the structure or to deter unethical contractors from dumping their illegal waste under the veil of night. Once an industrial site, this property was marred by environmental pollutants such as metals, paint, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Ninety-one years ago, it was operational before fa...
Read more

2024 Year in Review

Image
This year, like the last, has been a whirlwind of challenges in my personal life, finances, and mental health. It all started on a hopeful note in January—things felt like they were finally falling into place. But by February, life threw me a curveball, sending everything into a tailspin that felt impossible to control. Year after year, it’s been the same relentless cycle of setbacks, leaving me wondering if the light at the end of the tunnel is even there. For over two and a half years, I’ve been working tirelessly to pull myself out of a tough situation. Just when it seemed like I might catch a break, February came crashing in. It took months—three and a half, to be exact—before I could even sit down and take stock of where I was, and even then, there were no clear signs of improvement. But amid all the chaos, one thing has remained steady: my hobby. It’s my one true constant, the small bright light that keeps me going when everything else feels dark and unmanageable. I won’t dwell o...
Read more