Browse the Collection
View a database that includes artifacts, photographs, and documents in the History San José collection which relate to Del Monte Plant #3 in San José, California.
In Their Own Words
Learn about Del Monte Plant #3 from the people who worked there. See videos of former Del Monte employees sharing their memories.
1967-1999
The high quality products produced at canneries like Plant #3 earned the name Del Monte an outstanding reputation. In 1967, the California Packing Corporation adopted Del Monte as its corporate name. By the 1980’s, however, it was clear that Plant #3’s days were numbered. Orchards were gradually replaced with housing and office complexes. 
Less and less local produce arrived for processing at Plant #3. Even as the Valley’s agriculture faded, workers at Del Monte Plant #3 continued production, and continued to build friendships and loyalty to the company and to one another. When it closed in 1999, Del Monte Plant #3 was the last major canning operation in what was by then called “Silicon Valley”.