Pasadena History: A Pig, Trash Scandal

Here is your weekly dose of some Pasadena history thanks to The Pasadena Peninsula by Isabel Shipley Cunningham:

In 1919, a flu epidemic forced the closing of five county schools including Pasadena and Jacobsville Elementary. While people were suffering from the flu, local pigs were facing a whole different problem.

“In 1919 Baltimore City attempted to dispose of its garbage by establishing a piggery on 160 acres of the Jubb farm at Graveyard Point, now the site of the marina at Ventor,” Cunningham wrote.

“The plan was to take garbage there by barge and feed it to 15,000 pigs. Forty local residents filed a lawsuit against the city, but the city solicitor ruled that a piggery did not constitute a nuisance and would not depreciate property values.

“Before residents could file and appeal, the pigs became ill and some died, the manager of the piggery absconded with $15,000 that belonged to the city and Baltimore returned to incineration and landfill to dispose of garbage.”

Check back next Wednesday for more Pasadena history. For a complete listing of all Tidbits of History columns please click here.