1920s photo of the enlarged H-O complex, taken from Fulton Street. The rail cars were used to transport grain from the waterfront
and to ship products from Buffalo. Image source: private collection
1920s photo of the enlarged H-O complex, taken from Fulton Street. The rail cars were used to transport grain from the waterfront
and to ship products from Buffalo. Image source: private collection
Hecker H-O purchased the former Edward Elsworth Company in 1909 from its creditors. The company added a 4-story milling building and concrete-and-steel elevators between 1912 and 1914. (The elevators are above at right.) In 1918 the Buffalo Blue Book commercial directory described the products as steam-cooked oatmeal, Force, Presto flour, steam-cooked poulty, horse and cattle fees. In 1920, Buffalonian H.P. Werner purchased the company and renamed it "The H-O Company." This was the last Buffalo onwership connection the company would have. In 1925, Standard Milling, a holding company, bought H-O, renaming it "Hecker H-O." Standard brought in machinery from a New York City branch and moved the sales operations to Buffalo. A partner in Standard Milling, Gold Dust Company, took ownership of the Hecker H-O company in 1929 and in 1931, constructed the modern elevators in the southeast corner of the property. These 125-foot tall elevators, constructed by Monarch Engineering of Buffalo and capable of holding 600,000 bushels of grain, would become the iconic symbol of the Hecker H-O Company in Buffalo. That year Gold Dust merged with General Foods and became Best Foods. |
In 1932, the Hecker H-O company contacted Buffalo radio program creator Herbert Rice to offer sponsorship of a children's program. Rice used the "H-O" symbol to create a series based on a young orphan, Bobbie Benson, who inherits the H-BAR-O ranch in Texas. He also persuaded CBS to place the show in its network schedule. The show was a huge success and over 900 episodes were broadcast before Hecker H-O cancelled its sponsorship in 1936, during the height of the Depression. The series was re-introduced in 1949 with another sponsor. More details here. From 1940- 1942, Hecker H-O also sponsored Superman on the radio. |
 From a 1930's promotional item for Bobby Benson. |
 The Back Cover of a 1940's cookbook, "The Presto Recipe Book for Little Girls and Their Mothers." Image source: private collection |
The H-O company, as Buffalonians continued to call the complex, continued producing cereals well into the 1960's when, in 1969, Best Foods merged with Corn Products Company. In 1983, all production at the Buffalo plant ceased. The facilities were sold to Buffalonian Gary Rammacher, and in 1985, he sold the property to All-Star Tires for use as a warehouse. In 1987, fire destroyed most of the complex, leaving only part of the milling structure and the iconic elevators. In 2002, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation named the H-O elevators and 15 other Buffalo grain elevators as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Views over time taken along Perry Street, looking west.
Google image of the abandoned structures after the 1987 fire and before demolition by the Seneca Nation of Indians. Shaded area is
the site formerly occupied the H-O complex.
Views over time of Perry Street, facing east.
In 2005, the Seneca Nation of Indians purchased 9 acres, which included the former H-O property, for use as a casino. Demolition of the derelict milling facility began almost immediately. Although the new owners initially suggested that they might save the elevators for inclusion in their casino, they changed their minds and, after attempts to prevent the demolition failed in court, the owners commenced demolition in late May, 2006. By September, the elevators were gone, the site entirely cleared and all traces of the company built by Edward Ellsworth in 1893 were gone. |
Note: the black-and-white photos in the slides shows above are from History American Engineering Record, filed in the Library of Congress.
