COUNTY HIGHWAY BB, E SIDE, OPPOSITE INTERSECTION WITH SECTION LINE RD

COUNTY HIGHWAY BB, E SIDE, OPPOSITE INTERSECTION WITH SECTION LINE RD

Iowa

Ridgeway

6

4

E

28

SE

SW

1976,2026

dairy processing facility

Astylistic Utilitarian Building

Masonry

Clapboard

Y

No

THIS BUILDING IS REPRESENTATIVE OF MANY CHEESE FACTORIES LOCATED AT INTERSECTIONS IN THIS AREA. cheese factory 2026 Survey Notes: Resource 47218 is the Wakefield Cheese Factory (a), constructed ca. 1924 and expanded ca. 1950. The property also includes a ca. 1950 detached garage (b). The resource is located approximately 5.5-miles east of Dodgeville and 1.3-miles south of US-18/151. The earliest portion of the factory building (a) features a rectangular form with a side gable roof clad in metal. It is clad in metal siding and fenestrated by one-over-one vinyl sash windows on the first and second stories. It is set on a poured concrete foundation. The hipped roof addition, constructed ca. 1950, is built of CMU block and is fenestrated by two-over-two metal sash windows. The historic name of the facility is painted in Old English lettering along the south elevation. The detached garage (b) features a rectangular form, gable front roof clad in asphalt shingles, vertical wood board siding along the gable ends, and wooden double doors along its primary (west) elevation. The first mention of a Wakefield cheese factory occurred in 1905 in Dodgeville newspapers, with similar mentions in newspapers in 1910 (Iowa County Historical Society 2009). In 1924 the Dodgeville Chronicle formally announced the Wakefield Cheese Factory opening five miles east of town. The founder and original owner of the factory was Robert Ast who oversaw operations of the cheese factory until his retirement in 1981. After his death in 1987, his wife Margaret kept selling cheese out of the factory’s back room until 2004. The factory was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1936, plagued by scandal during the early 1940s due to bad milk from local area farmers, and was converted into a private residence after Robert and Margaret retired (Iowa County Historical Society 2009). At the time of the current survey, the former cheese factory was still used as a private residence. Alterations to the former Wakefield Cheese Factory (a) include a replacement metal roof, replacement metal siding, and replacement vinyl windows. These alterations have greatly diminished the integrity of the building’s original materials, workmanship and feeling however, the building retains good integrity of its original form. The detached garage (b) bears no evidence of exterior alterations.

Iowa County Historical Society (ICHS). 2009. Where Have All The Cheese Factories Gone? The History of the Cheese Factories & Creameries of Iowa County. Advantage Printing, Dodgeville, WI.

Not Listed