Arthur Perdue
Arthur W. Perdue was the founder of Perdue Farms[3] along with his wife Pearl in 1920.[4] The business was started in his backyard, and at the time only produced table eggs from chickens,[4] but eventually grew into a $4.1 billion company.[5]
Arthur W. Perdue | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | August 8, 1885
Died | June 27, 1977 91)[2] | (aged
Family and background
In the 1600's, Henri Perdue, a Huguenot, left France for the Province of Maryland to escape religious persecution.[6] Perdue settled in what is now Wicomico and Worcester Counties and his descendents continue to live in the area.[6]
Perdue was born in 1885 as the second of three children to Levin and Martha Perdue in Worcester County.[1] His parents were devout and strict Methodists.[1]
Career
In 1915, Arthur Perdue worked as a Railway Express agent[7] in Salisbury, Maryland.[8] By 1920, Perdue noticed that the chicken farmers on the Delmarva peninsula that were making money had shifted from selling chickens to selling table eggs.[9] Perdue quit his job at the railroad and established his own commercial table-egg farm a few miles east of Salisbury, Maryland.[9]
Perdue began focusing on quality and brought in Leghorn breeding stock from Texas to improve the quality of his flock.[7] He then expanded his egg market, including to New York.[7]
Legacy
The Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland, is home to the Delmarva Shorebirds baseball team, a class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the South Atlantic League.[10]
The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation was established to support the communities where Perdue Farms has facilities.[11]
In 2017, the farmhouse Perdue built in 1917 and lived in was added to the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.[12]
Further reading
- Gordy, Frank (1976). A Solid Foundation: The Life & Times of Arthur W. Perdue.
References
- Biography, The Perdue Family. A&E Television Networks. 2005. pp. 5:10. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- "Arthur W. Perdue, Founder of Poultry Concern in Maryland". New York Times. 28 June 1977. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- Schmetterer, Bob (2003). Leap: A Revolution in Creative Business Strategy. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 72–76. ISBN 978-0-471-22917-9.
- "Business Timeline: 1920s". Perdue Farms. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- "About Us". Perdue Farms. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- Omo-Osagie, Solomon Iyobosa, II (2012). Commercial Poultry Production on Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore: The Role of African Americans, 1930s to 1990s. University Press of America. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Rubenson, George C.; Shipper, Frank M. (2001). Integrative Case 12.0: Perdue Farms. Salisbury University. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Sloan, Judy; Perdue, Frank (September 1, 2003). "Frank Perdue Perdue Farms: I Turned My Father's Tiny Egg Farm Into A Poultry Powerhouse And Became The Face Of An Industry". CNN Money. CNN. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Williams, Henry H (1998). Delmarva's Chicken Industry: 75 Years of Progress (PDF). Georgetown, Delaware: Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0966761804. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Tilghman, Mary K. (2004). Frommer's Maryland & Delaware, 6th Ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 282. ISBN 978-0-7645-7379-8.
- Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation 2019 Annual Report (PDF). 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Dinsmore, Christopher. "Perdue farmhouse added to state historical registry". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 20 July 2020.