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Summary
Prospect Farm/ Hoard's Dairyman Farm
County Highway K, Town of Jefferson, Jefferson County
Builder: Asa Snell
Date of Construction of Main House: 1845, circa 1899
William Dempster Hoard acquired Prospect Farm in 1899 and used it as a laboratory for testing the practices promoted in his magazine, Hoard's Dairyman. Hoard advocated the use of alfalfa as a dairy feed, maintaining a cow census, and the registration of dairy herds to track milk production. Hoard's magazine also encouraged improvements to the silo and the use of silage as a feed source. He further worked on the eradication of milk-borne tuberculosis.
Hoard was born in Stockbridge, New York in 1836 and migrated to Wisconsin in 1857. After serving in the Civil War, Hoard launched several business ventures, finally settling on newspaper publishing. He began the Jefferson County Union in Lake Mills, Wisconsin in 1870. Three years later, he and the newspaper moved to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. In 1885 he founded Hoard's Dairyman. Hoard was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 1888 and fought against the adulteration of food. William Hoard died in 1918. His son, Frank Ward Hoard, who became the business manager of their publishing business in 1890, succeeded him in his work. Frank, with the help of his brothers, Halbert and Arthur, built Hoard's Dairyman into a national dairy farm magazine.
The property is not open to the public, please respect the privacy of its owners.
Property Details
| Criteria | Event,Person |
|---|---|
| Area Of Significance | Agriculture,Archeology/Prehistoric |
| Period of Significance | 1899 |
| Architectural Style | Italianate |
| Architect | |
| Resource Type | Building |
| Historic Use | Agricultural Fields,Animal Facility,Single Dwelling,Storage |
Resources Within The Property
| Contributing Buildings | 1 |
|---|---|
| Contributing Sites | 1 |
| Contributing Structures | 0 |
| Contributing Objects | 1 |
| Non-Contributing Buildings | 15 |
| Non-Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Structures | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Objects | 0 |
Designations
| Historic Status | Listed in the National Register |
|---|---|
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Aug 29, 1978 |
| Historic Status | Listed in the State Register |
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Jan 1, 1989 |
State & National Registers of Historic Places
The State Register and National Register recognize buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are significant in national, state, or local history. The State Historic Preservation Office in conjunction with the National Park Service maintains the list for Wisconsin and makes the data available to the public for research and education.
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Email UsAttribution
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
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Hoard's Dairyman Letterhead
Letterhead of Hoard's Dairyman, the "national dairy farm magazine" published by former governor and proponent of the Wisconsin dairy industry, William Dempster Hoard, with a view of Hoard's Dairyma...
Hoard's Dairyman Letterhead
Letterhead of Hoard's Dairyman, "The National Dairy Farm Magazine," with a bird's eye view of the company farm buildings, and a mailbox with an upraised flag and the Hoard's Dairyman name. The maga...
E SIDE OF COUNTY HIGHWAY K, .2 M S OF HOARD RD
6573
Located in Koshkonong, Jefferson County
W2803 US Hwy 18
100002092
Located in Jefferson, Jefferson County
Hoard's Dairy Farm
1920
View across field toward Hoard's dairy farm with silos, barns, and trees.
