Dec. 3, 2019 - Horlick Malted Milk Company Listed in the State Register of Historic Places
For Immediate Release
Racine, WI. - The Wisconsin Historical Society placed the Horlick Malted Milk Company in Racine, Racine County on the State Register of Historic Places in November.
The Horlick Malted Milk Company, composed of 12 buildings located on a 16-acre site approximately 1.6 miles northwest of Racine’s historic downtown, is the headquarters and manufacturing plant of the company, one of Racine’s most significant industrial enterprises. Brothers William and James Horlick established a milk products company and moved to the subject property in 1877. In 1883, William Horlick patented a powdered milk food product consisting of malted barley, wheat extract, and evaporated whole milk that was nutritious, easily digestible, non-perishable, and soluble in water. This invention was the world’s first “malted milk.”
Horlick’s malted milk was widely popular across the United States, the United Kingdom and the Greater British Empire, appealing both to consumers looking for a nutritious and digestible infant food and to the general population who enjoyed malted milk in dessert shakes and candies. Malted milk, revered for its non-perishable and lightweight qualities, was carried on numerous high-profile polar expeditions and customarily provided in American and British soldiers’ ration kits during the Spanish-American War of 1898 and World Wars I and II.
The company was one of Racine’s leading industrial enterprises and a major local employer. It established milk purity standards that were adopted statewide by Wisconsin’s dairy industry and its invention of malted milk quickly spread nationally becoming a household name developed through nationwide advertising campaigns and worldwide distribution. With the invention of the malted milkshake and beginning in the early 1900s popularized at soda fountains across the country, gave rise to an entire phenomenon of American culture that persisted through the mid-20th century and even lent its name to the retail outlet: the malt shop. The scale of the company’s operations necessitated an industrial plant comprised of multiple buildings and a sizeable local labor force to work at the plant, and played a significant role in the industrial economy of Racine.
The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.