Central New York Dairy History, A Call for Your Stories!

By Karen Baase

(Morrisville, NY) Central New York was once the premier dairy region of the nation, especially for Holsteins. Gerrit Smith Miller of Peterboro, Madison County, kept the oldest purebred Holstein herd in the United States from 1869 to 1937. Many other notable dairymen called Central New York home at one time, including such pioneers as W. D. Hoard of Hoard’s Dairyman, Solomon Hoxie of the Advanced Registry system, Stephen Moulton Babcock of the Babcock test system, and Gail Borden of Borden’s Condensed Milk.

As a way to honor Central New York’s dairy legacy, we invite you to consider recovering your own family stories and that of other important dairy farms in the area. Though the focus of our on-going volunteer efforts will be on documenting the history of farm families that had Holstein herds in Central New York, all breed enthusiasts and others with stories about dairy farming are welcome.

Please join us for an informal gathering at 7:30 P.M., Tuesday evening, February 23^rd in the Ag Center, 100 Eaton Street, Morrisville. Dr. Milt Sernett, professor emeritus of Syracuse University and a volunteer with the Smithfield Community Association, will present an image-rich history of Gerrit Smith Miller and his historic Kriemhild Herd of Peterboro. Discussions follow.

This program is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County.

3 Comments on "Central New York Dairy History, A Call for Your Stories!"

Michael Storrer on Fri, 8th Jan 2010 12:49 pm

I am the son of of one of those families that mde their living as part of Madison Counties strong dairy heritage.I can remember loading up 5 or 6 cans of milk and taking them up Route 26 to the milk plant,think it was owned by Sheffield Farms.I spoke to my dad K.W.Storrer born in 1924,also the son of a herdsman. The family had a Jersey herd and as my dad put it this morning, most farms between Eaton and Morrisville put out 2-4 cans of milk.6 cans, was REALLY BIG!He tells me looking back to Morrisville from Eaton,looking along the valley walls ther were about ten little farms along English Ave.Farms of 30 to 60 acres that all produced milk and the another nine along Eaton Road. He is a wealth of information as he worked for GLF(Grange League Federation)and later Agway delivering grain to farms all over Madison County. I would be glad to assist you in contacting him if you so desire.I must tell you he is quite bias toward his Jersey herds that he treated with love.

Dr. Milt Sernett on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 12:37 pm

Dear Michael:

I saw your post in response to our call for family dairy stories in Madison County and, more generally, Central New York. This is exactly the kind of history that we want to recover–marvelous as to its detail and the possibilities for linking it to other stories. Not sure where you are at, but I hope that you and your father can attend the get-to-gether over in Morrisville on Feb. 23. Two quick things. You might enjoy looking at Creameries of Upstate New York at the Turn of the Century by John W. Hudson. It has lots of images of the old milk stations, cheese factories, Borden plants, of this region. On the GLF, I found the memoir of John B. Babcock called Farmboy fascinating. His father was the leader of the old GLF, later Agway, and the family operated a farm down south of Ithaca. A film by Jake Gorst was based on the book by Babcock. It won several awards and is available on DVD. Again, thanks for your input and keep the stories coming.
P.S. I would like contact information for both you and your father.
–
Dr. Milton C. Sernett
5300 Ridge Rd.
Cazenovia, New York
13035
Ph. 315-655-4166
Email: mcsernett@windstream.net

Bruce Dee on Mon, 2nd Aug 2010 12:53 am

Hello,
Does anyone out there remember a dairy farm somewhere in the Garrattsville-Leonardsville, perhaps, New Berlin area called WILLOW POND FARM? I was there in the late 1950s and would like to know what became of it AND exactly where it was- an address. It may have been on 51. Not sure. I do remember as being within about 45 minutes of Gilbert Lake State Park. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.
Bruce Dee
bruced444@gmail.com

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Central New York Dairy History, A Call for Your Stories!

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