Wampler Business Records

The Wampler family emerged upon the American poultry industry in the early twentieth century changing the industry practices and beliefs. As a result of their success, the Wamplers became one of the most influential families in Rockingham County, Virginia and helped the Shenandoah Valley garner the moniker "Turkey Capital of the Nation.”

In 1811, John Wampler and family, members of the Brethren Church, moved from Pennsylvania to the Timberville area of the county during a period when large groups of Brethren were migrating south. During the Civil War, John Wampler III gained notoriety for supposedly thwarting Union General Philip Sheridan’s attempt to burn his family’s barn. After the war, in 1871, John Wampler III purchased a farm in Dayton that he named Sunny Slope and built a house there. Under the setting of Sunny Slope, John Wampler III’s children and grandchildren made their many significant contributions to agriculture.

Charles W. Wampler Sr., third son of John Wampler III, was born in 1886 and took quickly to the agricultural development of the county. He became a county agricultural agent and was an accomplished livestock farmer raising chickens and cattle. Eventually, he settled into turkey farming and started Rockingham County’s first turkey hatchery. It was during this time that he became known as the “Father of the Modern Turkey Industry” because of his success in various agricultural experiments that changed the face of modern turkey farming. One of his earliest experiments was using chicken incubators to hatch turkey eggs. Starting with only ninety eggs, Wampler Sr. was able to hatch fifty-two poults. Another Charles Wampler Sr. innovation all but ended the wide spread practice of free-range turkey farming in commercial operations. Wampler Sr. believed, and was able to show, that free-range turkeys were less cost effective to raise as they expended more energy and required more feed at the expense of the farmer. Wampler practiced “incubation and confinement” which soon became the standard among successful poultry growers.

Charles Wampler Sr. also served as the first Rockingham County Extension Agent and founded the Wampler Feed and Seed Company in 1927 with two of his brothers. The company mixed feed for distribution to livestock and turkeys. Wampler Feed and Seed was the first in the nation to contract with farms to grow poultry. Wampler also helped found the National Turkey Federation. Among his many philanthropic activities, Charles Wampler Sr. served on the Board of Trustees for Bridgewater College, on the Board of Visitors for Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Home Society of Virginia.

Charles Wampler Jr. was born at Sunny Slope on November 25, 1915 as one of nine children (six daughters and three sons.) He attended Bridgewater College for two years and Rutgers University for one year. His early indoctrination in the poultry business began at the age of seven when he and a sister, with the aid of their mother, prepared feed for turkeys in the family business. Crushed eggs and oatmeal were the two main components of the feed. In 1936, his career officially began as a “field man” for Wampler Feed and Seed - traveling to various growers and inspecting livestock. Eventually, Charles Jr. became the company’s general manager when Charles Sr. retired. In 1969, Wampler hatcheries, feed mills, and grower operations joined with Virginia Valley Processing to become Wampler Food Incorporated. Poultry processing, hatcheries, and growers were combined as a single corporation with Charles Wampler Jr. as president. In 1984, Charles Jr. oversaw the merger between Wampler Foods and Longacre Farms out of Franconia, Pennsylvania. By 1986, Wampler-Longacre acquired the Rockingham Poultry Cooperative and formed WLR Foods Incorporated with Charles Jr. as chairman of the board.

In addition to his business career, Charles Wampler Jr. had an equally distinguished career in service. Charles Jr. was a district representative for Rockingham County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1954 until 1965 serving on several committees including Agriculture, Finance, and Labor. In 1957, he co-founded the United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. From 1971 to 1984, Charles Jr. served as president and chairman of the board for the Rockingham Memorial Hospital. He has also served on James Madison University’s Board of Visitors and the Rockingham County School Board. In 1990, he received James Madison University’s Common Wealth award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the community. In addition, Charles Wampler Jr. was a member of the Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg.