E.R. Durkee & Company ca.1922

Eugene R. Durkee founded his company in 1851, and by 1857 his original "secret recipe" dressing for salads and meats had won numerous awards for excellence. The company went on to create sauces and gravy mixes, to import olives, and to package and sell shredded coconut. In 1906 the government turned to E.W. Durkee (Eugene's son) to write federal standards for spices and extracts. This factory at Elmhurst, Long Island (Queens), joined the existing Brooklyn plant in 1917. Durkee's reputation for being a good employer is evident in the several years of documentation by Byron Company photographs, which include playful group portraits, gardens on the factory grounds, and staff dining rooms. Durkee Famous Foods was absorbed by the Gladden Company in 1980 and then transferred to the Consumer Products Division of the SCM Corporation.