Frank E. Booth

Frank E. Booth, known as "Father of the Modern Sardine Industry" established the first sardine cannery in Monterey, California. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, Booth moved to San Francisco during his childhood. He began working in his family's business, Sacramento River Packers in 1881. Booth became company president in 1889 after his father died. He made an initial, failed attempt to can salmon in Monterey in 1897, but returned in 1902 and founded the Monterey Packing Company. He soon recognized Monterey Bay's abundant sardine supply as a new source of business. After a fire destroyed his cannery in 1903, Booth rebuilt and expanded the cannery and renamed it the F.E. Booth Company. When he later combined the expertise of Sicilian fishermen with innovative processing methods developed by his engineer, Knut Hovden, his sardine cannery thrived. Montery's sardine industry saw rapid growth during World War I and World War II, but declined in the late 1940s. Booth's sixty-year career in the canning industry—spanning the Sacramento River area, Monterey, and Centerville—helped make the F.E. Booth Company one of California's biggest canning businesses.