[1] Six local businessmen responded to a request by Wyoming cattle baron Alexander Swan showing interest in a livestock market closer than the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, Illinois.
Six local businessmen, including William A. Paxton, Herman Kountze and John A. Creighton, formed the Union Stockyards on December 1, 1883 and purchased 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of land.
[6] In 1927 the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha constructed the Livestock Exchange Building to house its operations.
[8] After a downturn in the market and changes in the livestock industry, the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha lost value through the 1960s.
In 1973 the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was sold to the Canal Capital Corporation of New York.