The Rise of Dairy Farming
Wheat was the earliest and most important cash crop for white settlers in Wisconsin. It required a small initial capital investment and was fairly easy to grow, allowing farmers to harvest two crops a year. The high rate of financial return made wheat an especially attractive crop for homesteaders during the middle of the 19th century. Wheat provided a way for new immigrants in Wisconsin to farm cheaply and to deliver a product that many people needed. From 1840 to 1880, Wisconsin was considered "America's breadbasket" because one-sixth of the wheat grown in the nation came from Wisconsin. The early... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
| Recollections of Old Superior |
|
| A Sauk Co. farmer recalls turning from wheat to dairy in the 1850s. |
|
| The legacy of the farm magazine, Hoard's Dairyman (1935) |
|
| Cheese-making in Monticello, ca. 1870 |
|
| An interview with Dr. Babcock (1923) |
|
| William Dempster Hoard looks back on the start of dairy farming in Wisconsin |
|
| A history of cheesemaking in Green County |
| Hoard's Dairyman Farm milk bottle |
|
| A copper Swiss cheese kettle |
|
| The oldest toast in Wisconsin |
|
| A quilt made by hand, 1908-1934, from prize ribbons |
|
| Racine's malted milk transforms American soda fountains |
| A 1944 cookbook featuring dairy products |
|
| A history and statistical summary of dairying, 1860-1931. |
| Photos and information about the UW Dairy Barn |
|
| Advertisements for farm equipment |
|
| Photos and advertisements showing dairy farmers at work, 1900-1950 |
|
| Pictures of the founders of Wisconsin's dairy industry. |
|
| Picture of Dr. Stephen Babcock with his butterfat tester. |
| A female leader in Wisconsin dairying |
|
| William Dempster Hoard discusses his vision for the dairy industry |
| University of Wisconsin Dairy Barn |
|
| A co-operative creamery spurs the growth of dairying in Prentice |
|
| Hoard buys a farm to test his dairying theories |
|
| Nashold Twenty-Sided Barn |
|
| Stonefield, home of Gov. Nelson Dewey and the State Agricultural Museum |
Primary Sources Available Elsewhere
|
| The "dos" and "don'ts" of cooperatives |
|
| Saving time and labor through dairy cooperatives, 1903 |
|
| The Early History of the UW-Madison College of Agriculture |
|
| One hundred years of cheesemaking in Wisconsin, 1850-1950 |
|
| Wisconsin Blue Books |
|
| Images of Round Barns |
|
| A farm and village in Wisconsin's dairy country |
|
| A well-known cooperative creamery in Westby |
Related Links
 Discover classroom resources available from our Office of School Services
Search our catalogs for materials on this topic that aren't yet available online.
Borrow books about this topic through our interlibrary loan service
Borrow manuscripts about this topic through our Area Research Center network.
Company history of Hoard's Dairyman and the Dairyman today
Learn about other topics from our new book, Wisconsin History Highlights
Arrange a tour on this topic at our Museum
Read more about the Americanization of European barn styles
Learn about an African American barn builder
|
