The stockyards became the important point of the rise of some of the earliest international companies. The stockyards have become an important part of the popular culture of Chicago's history.
From the Civil War until the 1920s and peaking in 1924, more meat was processed in Chicago than in any other place in the world.[4] The Yards closed on July 30, 1971, after several decades of decline during the decentralization of the meatpacking industry.