Brighton Area Historical Society

The establishment of the Borden’s Condensed Milk Factory in Howell, just before the turn of the century, marked the beginning of a new era in Livingston County.

Shorthorn beef had become a major source of income.  The railroad enabled the farmer to ship his product cheaply and easily.  In addition to the beef cattle, a farmer often had a herd of Jerseys, because of the high butter fat content of the milk.  After separating out the cream, the skim milk was often fed to calves and pigs.  The cream was churned into butter and traded in town for groceries or sold.  Now with a handy, ready market for milk the cattle one saw in the fields changed from beef to the black and white Holstein milk producer.

Enterprising men traveled to Holland, in the old country, and brought back thoroughbred, registered Holstein cattle with a reputation as milk producers.  The bulls were cross-bred with local cattle and in a few years the county became known as the foremost market for Holstein cattle.  Buyers from all over the U.S. came to buy cows and bulls at the sales arena in Howell.

The farmer now had a nearby market for surplus cows.  Several neighbors combined their saleable stock and drove them to the market; five or six men herding them along the way and out of other farmers’ fields.

The Registered Holstein Breeders Association held regular auctions.  Out of state buyers made their selections from approximately 100 head, paying up to $1,200/$1,500. each; averaging $400/$500.  A very good price in those days.  Bill Pless’ Uncle Freeman Fishbeck was known as a pedigree expert of Holstein and Shorthorn cattle.  Buyers often requested his aid in locating and selecting good buys.

To convert to dairy farming involved many changes.  Farmers found that besides the different breed of animals they also needed to convert their farms; the method farming; their equipment.  The very manner in which they had been conducting their enterprise was altered.  In addition, the procedure in connection with the cooling and storing of milk and the manner of shipment of the product called for changes.

Whole milk, a bulky product, presented a problem; how to get the milk from the farm, 8-10 miles out in the country, to the factory in Howell?  Milk routes stretching every direction from the factory were established and a new business came into existence.

These milk routes were operated by people like George Taylor.  He lived in Brighton Township on the west side of Old 23, north of Hyne Rd.  One of the routes covered North Brighton before reaching Grand River in Genoa Township and then on to Howell.

George furnished a wagon and horses and hired drivers who worked a 12 hour day.  Depending on the distance from the factory, Taylor was paid about 10 cents per can.  The wagon box held 40 ten gallon milk cans.  A shelf-like arrangement held four cans on each side of the wagon.  High above the front wheels were two shelves which held three cans each. A fully loaded wagon carried 54 cans.  At 100 pounds each can the payload reached 5400 pounds.  The weight of the wagon, box and driver’s cab brought the gross vehicle weight near 7000 pounds.  Each can was lifted about 3 feet up into the wagon.

Two horses normally were expected to pull this load.  Keep in mind the country roads of the day were not the roads to which we’ve become accustomed, not even the narrow, gravel ones.  When roads were really poor (during the spring thaw or heavy rains) an extra team was hitched up, or the load was placed on two wagons.  Extra wagons were usually put into use on Monday mornings because of the previous weekend’s milkings, which were not picked up on Sunday.