09/03/2026
Interesting read about one of Cullman’s earliest industries!
In 1946, as Cullman emerged from the hardships of World War II and entered a new era of growth, the McPhillips family brought the King Pharr Canning Company to town. What began as a vegetable canning operation would become one of the most important businesses in Cullman’s postwar history.
The company was led by Julian B. McPhillips of Mobile and his two sons, Julian L. McPhillips and W. Warren McPhillips, who returned home from Navy service in the Pacific. Under their leadership, the Cullman plant grew into the city’s largest employer, providing work for as many as 400 local residents. Its influence reached far beyond the cannery itself, with hundreds of additional workers involved in harvesting crops and more than 1,000 employees working across the company’s various plants.
This location served as the headquarters of the King Pharr Canning Company. From here, vegetables grown throughout the region were processed, canned, and shipped to markets across the nation. The company handled 33 varieties of vegetables, including peas, green beans, Irish potatoes, okra, tomatoes, pimentos, sweet potatoes, and blackberries.
King Pharr reached the height of its operation in 1959. That year, more than 2,000 individual farmers grew crops under contract with the company, while King Pharr produced an astonishing 30 million cans of vegetables. The relationship between the cannery and local farmers helped make agriculture a vital part of Cullman’s economy, connecting farms throughout the area to consumers across the country.
The company’s reach extended beyond Cullman, with additional plants in Selma, Uniontown, Georgia, and Louisiana. For three decades, King Pharr was woven into the economic and agricultural life of Cullman, providing jobs, supporting local farmers, and helping establish the community as an important center of food production.
After thirty years of operation, the King Pharr business closed in 1976. Though the cannery is gone, its legacy remains an important chapter in Cullman’s history—a story of family, agriculture, industry, and the generations of local families whose livelihoods were connected to King Pharr.
