The Lopez, Dunbar’s Sons & Company was created in 1884, upon the resignation of Lazaro Lopez and W.K.M. Dukate from the Biloxi Canning Company. The Biloxi Canning Company, located on the Back Bay of Biloxi, along the edge of Reynoir Street, was the reorganized successor to Lopez, Elmer and Company, the Gulf Coast’s first commercial seafood processor.
Situated on East Beach in Biloxi, Lopez, Dunbar’s & Sons was recognized as the second largest oyster canning plant in the United States in 1895. The factory utilized Norton Brothers machinery to pack its shrimp with a patented muslin bag ensuring a good product. Its shrimp were marketed under the “Dunbar Standard”, “Deer head”, “Lion Head”, and “Pelicans” labels. With the rapidly growing industry, there was a need for more workers, so the company sought the assistance of the packers referred to as “Bohemians” from the Maryland area. Later, Lopez and Dukate expanded their canning operations to the Rigolets in southeast Louisiana, building, as they did in Biloxi, housing camps and erecting a church for the seafood workers.
The efforts of these businessmen to make the seafood industry a great success culminated in Biloxi holding the title “Seafood Capital of the World” and was a significant contributing factor to the diversity of nationalities that make the history and heritage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast so rich.
Commenti