Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/21/2018
NRHP Listing Date 01/31/2019
NRHP Reference Number SG100003394
The Valleydale Packers was the original plant and headquarters for Neuhoff Incorporated (later renamed Valleydale Packers), a major industrial operation in the Southeastern United States. Established in 1936, it became one of the largest employers in Salem and helped launch the city into a new era of industrial prosperity. The plant complex consists of a 1951 International-style office wing at the front, and interconnected one- and two-story masonry buildings, constructed between 1936 and 1971, where the various activities of the meat processing operations took place. Founder Lorenz Neuhoff, Jr., a leader in the region’s meat packing industry, was an innovative marketer who capitalized on television advertising as early as the 1950s with ads featuring dancing cartoon pigs and catchy jingles. Lorenz Neuhoff continued to own, operate, and expand the business into the 1980s.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 22, 2021
