Grayson County TXGenWeb

The Denison Herald
July 25, 1972

Once-Abandoned Cotton Oil Mill Basis of Safeway Complex Today
For many years the abaondoned plant of the Choctaw Cotton Oil Co. sat on Washington street in northwest Denison as a gaunt reminder of a chapter in Denison's industrial history that had come to a disappointing end.
Sometime before the turn of the century, the sprawling plant had been constructed with facilities to crush the oil from cottonseed and to store both the processed oil and the cottonseed cake.
Frank McCune, one of Denison's best historians, remembers that the oil mill was pictures in his school geography with the notation that it was the second largest in the world.
The pride that Denisonians realized from that superlative was dimmed by the fact...that the largest in the world was at...Sherman.
As second largest the Denison plant might have tried harder, but it wasn't hard enough, because the mill ceased to operate in the early 1920s. The sprawling complex sat idle for several years. The ghostly-still buildings echoed the rustling of pigeons that reared families in the lofts.
Now the scene shifts to the 800 block of South Austin avenue where the Kraft-Phoenix took over in 1929 one of the first cheese-making plants in the South. Up until that time it was believed that cheese could be manufactured successfully only in the North's dairy country.
Kraft actually didn't...300,000 pounds daily was started with minimum delay.
Also at the same time Safeway made more economic news with the announcement that a $200,000 retail store would be built in the 500 block of West Chestnut street. Now that facility is being eclipsed bu the construction of a far larger and modern store between the 800 blocks of West Crawford and Owings.
The Conway oil plant provided vegetable needed in the many products manufactured by the two other Safeway divisions sharing the former Kraft plant.
Eventually all three units were merged into the Brookside Manufacturing Division of Safeway, Inc. Several major expansions have been made along the way, with the addition of many products.
The largely mechanized operation now has a very steady employment of approximately 365.