Cow County USA

Editor’s Note: Information for this article was gathered from the Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum in Waukesha, Wisconsin, as well as sources who grew up on dairy farms in the area.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Tucked into the southeast corner of Wisconsin, as Milwaukee’s neighbor to the east, sits Waukesha County. In 1919, this county earned a special nickname, “Cow County USA,” when it was proven to have more dairy cattle than any other county in the world.

The title was derived from a story published in Kimball’s Dairy Farmer bulletin, based in Waterloo, Iowa. Written by a leading dairy expert, the story praised the number of and quality of dairy herds in Waukesha County. The author had determined that per square mile, Waukesha had more cows than any other county. By 1925, there were 3,283 farms reporting some type of commercial dairy production.

The county once had more cattle than people as well as more Guernsey cattle than the island of Guernsey, which gave way to another nickname — the “Guernsey capital of America.” Waukesha County is also the birthplace of Golden Guernsey Dairy Cooperative.

Dave Morris, who grew up on a dairy farm in Waukesha County near Hartland in the 1950s, said everybody in the area dairy farmed.

“Not only did Waukesha County have more cows than any county in the U.S., it had at least three herds of 500 cows, which was unheard of back then,” Morris said. “In those days if you had that many cows, you probably had 100 employees.”

Some of those farms also bottled their own milk.

“The big thing in this area during the 1940s and 50s was supplying milk to Chicago,” Morris said.

The Morris family farm was home to about 30 Holstein cows.

“We had Holsteins all our life,” Morris said. “We were very passionate about Holstein cattle.”

Half of their herd was registered, and half was grade.

“The thing that inspired you to be in registered cattle was that there were some awesome herds in Waukesha County,” Morris said. “Pabst Farms had a great herd. So did Keystone Farms. They all had good cattle and a good reputation for breeding stock. A lot of bull pedigrees were developed by some of those herds, especially Pabst. They say you can still trail some of those lines today.”

The county claimed to be the home of the world’s greatest Holstein-Friesian sires, such as Cedar Lawn Canary Paul. It was also known as “the Holstein center of America” due to its outstanding Holstein herds, with many of the country’s Holstein show herds hailing from Waukesha County. Two of the state’s oldest breed associations began here as well — Guernsey in 1906 and Holstein in 1907.

Prominent registered breeders could be found throughout the county as Waukesha gained national and international recognition for its legendary genetics. Many show animals came from the county, and in 1920, Waukesha animals won five of the six grand champion titles at the National Dairy Show in Chicago, Illinois.

Other popular Waukesha County farms included Wern Farms and Brook Hill Farms. In an article by Lorayne Ritt for Freeman Weekly, Ritt stated that David Williams of Wern Farms was one of the first men in the U.S. to import registered cows from the Isle of Guernsey.

The county was also home to one of the country’s best Ayrshire herds at Spring City Stock Farm, started by Adam Seitz in 1892. Ayrshires from Waukesha were well known in showing circles with an Ayrshire winning grand champion cow of all breeds at the National Dairy Show two years in a row.

Morris said some of his favorite memories of the era were visits to the Waukesha County Dairy and Sale Pavilion.

“Being a little guy at the time, it was humungous to me,” he said. “They had a spring livestock show there that I think would probably compare to World Dairy Expo today. Cattle came from all over this part of the state. There were a lot of good cattle from Waukesha County.”

Built in 1918 on the banks of the Fox River, the pavilion was the site of countless cattle sales. Buyers from across the country and beyond came to the Waukesha County Dairy and Sale Pavilion to bid large sums for prized purebred cattle.

The pavilion could seat approximately 2,000 people, and the attached barn built in 1916 could house 100-150 animals. An article in the May 3, 1917, Waukesha Freeman stated: “When completed (the pavilion) will be one of the best and most thoroughly equipped buildings of its kind in the United States.”

Morris said the 2-story building featured a balcony that encircled the entire upper floor.

“It was very unique,” he said.

A focal point of the pavilion was a large painted mural depicting life-sized pictures of cows that represented the county’s most popular dairy breeds. Purebred dairy sales were typically held each spring and fall. The pavilion’s first notable purebred Holstein sale held in 1919 averaged $1,000 per animal. The top seller in this sale was Pabst Creation — a bull calf that sold for $20,000.

The highest auction price ever recorded at the sales pavilion occurred Nov. 15, 1943, when Carnation Madcap Supreme from Carnation Farms of Carnation, Washington, was sold for $26,000 — a sum equivalent to over $485,000 today. In other auctions, individual head sold for $10,000. Pabst Blue Ribbon Farms sales in particular attracted national and international buyers.

A Waukesha Freeman article mentioned that the pavilion reached its peak during the World War II years, with big crowds jamming the rafters of the pavilion for the spring and fall sales. Some of the top U.S. national blue ribbon Holstein sales were held in the pavilion during this time.

Waukesha’s annual county fair, started in 1842, was renamed the Waukesha County Dairy Show in 1918 and was held in March at the pavilion from 1919 to approximately 1960. The first junior fair, which was held in August for grade school and high school students in 4-H and FFA, took place in 1942 and was held at the pavilion until the early 1960s.

Morris remembers showing dairy animals at the county fair during its pavilion days.

“There would be 400 head or more of dairy cattle,” he said. “It was a big thing. There were 50 animals in a class sometimes.”

In 1960, the Waukesha Livestock Breeders Association disbanded and put the pavilion up for sale. The building served other purposes before being demolished in 1990 to make way for an apartment complex.

From 1980-2015, the Morris family milked 180 cows as he witnessed the decline of dairying in Waukesha County. It was once where the cows were, but as more people moved in, the cows moved out. Today, Morris and his family raise Hereford beef cattle and grow cash grain at Dave Morris Farms LLC.

“Waukesha County was very rural in those days; now it’s very urban,” Morris said. “That led to part of our reason for quitting dairying. Manure spreading was getting harder and harder, and traffic was getting busier. Today, there are only a handful of dairies left in the county.” 

Even though Waukesha County is no longer a populous place for dairy cattle, the success of the time is forever embedded in the county’s rich dairy history.