The Water Tower & the Canneries

The Fleming brothers opened a fruit-drying works by the railroad in 1887; that season they employed 700 people and shipped 120 carloads of dried fruit east. Local growers formed the Campbell Fruit Growers’ Union in 1892, George E. Hyde turned its plant into a cannery, and Sunsweet ran the site from 1937 to 1971. The city’s walking tour says it was at one time one of the largest drying yards in the world. (City of Campbell)

J. C. Ainsley started his cannery in 1891 and moved it beside the tracks at Harrison Avenue in 1892, where Ainsley Park is now. He sold nearly all of his fruit in England and is credited with being the first to market fruit salad. (Campbell Museums)

The Campbell Water Company, the town’s first utility, was formed in 1892. The 1906 earthquake brought down its wooden tanks, and the steel tower of 1928, with a 75,000-gallon tank, has become the symbol of historic downtown. (City of Campbell) Since 2016 LED lights have colored it for holidays and awareness months. (San José Spotlight)

The Downtown Campbell light rail station stands near the site of the first depot. Benjamin Campbell deeded an acre for it in 1886, and the stop, first called Lovelady, was known as Campbell by 1890. (City of Campbell, Wikipedia)