09/03/2026
DID YOU KNOW? 40 Million Cans in Just 31 Days! 🏭
In the late 1950s, Hurlock truly earned its title as the "Canning Center of Delmarva," setting an eye-popping industrial record right here in town!
During August 1958, the Continental Can Company plant in Hurlock manufactured an astounding 40,000,000 tin cans in that single month alone.
2,000 Cans a Minute: The plant ran four high-speed production lines, each capable of crimping and soldering over 400 cans per minute—churning out roughly 2,000 finished cans every sixty seconds.
Massive Stockpiles: To prepare for the Eastern Shore’s frantic summer tomato, bean, and vegetable harvest, the Hurlock warehouse routinely stockpiled 24,000,000 cans before packing season even began.
200 Million Total: Over the course of 1958, the factory was projected to produce an incredible 200,000,000 cans.
Economic Engine: With 110 union employees represented by the United Steelworkers, the plant poured more than half a million dollars in annual wages directly into the local community, boasting some of the highest manufacturing pay scales in Dorchester County.
From raw sheets of tin shipped across the bay from Bethlehem Steel in Baltimore to millions of sealed food cans on grocery shelves nationwide, Hurlock was a powerhouse of mid-century American food production!
