Dipping into Dairy History

The last of her kind

Wisconsin cow final bovine resident at the White House

Pauline Wayne 3d stands in her stall with veterinarian Dr. David Roberts (left) and her attendant in 1911 at the International Dairy Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Gridley Dairy Company contracted with President Taft to purchase the milk Pauline produced at the show for $5 per 8-gallon milk can.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Pauline Wayne 3d stands on the lawn of the State, War and Navy Building in 1910 in Washington, D.C. Pauline was the last cow to take up residence in the White House stables.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Pauline Wayne 3d’s official registration paper is displayed. Pauline was born July 15, 1906.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Pauline Wayne 3d grazes in front of the Washington Monument, on what is now part of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Pauline was given to President Taft and his family by Wisconsin Sen. Isaac Stephenson.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Posted Saturday, March 28, 2026 12:00 am

Pauline Wayne 3d was given as a gift to President William Howard Taft by Wisconsin Sen. Isaac Stephenson in 1910, after the president’s Jersey cow, Mooley-Wooley, died.

After Taft left the White House, Pauline Wayne 3d returned to Somers Farm in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she remained until Sen. Isaac Stephenson’s herd was dispersed in 1917.

Pauline Wayne 3d came from the same cow family as Gertrude Wayne, who set a milk and butterfat production record in 1910.

On her way to the International Dairy Show, Pauline Wayne 3d’s boxcar ended up at the Chicago Stockyards, mistakenly shunted to a train of beef cattle headed for slaughter.

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A mild-mannered, well-bred Holstein cow that hailed from Kenosha, Wisconsin, became the unlikely star of President William Howard Taft’s single term in the White House as she grazed the grounds surrounding the presidential home.

Pauline Wayne 3d became the most famous bovine to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and was the last to do so. She found herself thrust into the national spotlight when she was gifted to the first family in 1910 by Wisconsin Sen. Isaac Stephenson, after the family’s previous Jersey cow, Mooley-Wooley, died. Before Mooley-Wooley’s arrival, it had been 45 years since a cow had grazed the White House lawn.

Born July 15, 1906, Pauline was the daughter of a cow named Pauline Wayne and sired by Lord Mercedes De Kol Paul. She was said to weigh 1,500 pounds.

Stephenson considered the 4-year-old cow, which he valued at $1,000, well-suted to take on the role of producing milk and butter for the Tafts. She descended from the same cow family as Stephenson’s prized cow, Gertrude Wayne, who broke production records in 1910 at 9 years old.

Stephenson’s Somers Farm herdsman, James Torrey, a cousin of Taft, accompanied the presidential cow to ensure her comfort and care during the trip.

Pauline arrived at Union Station Nov. 5, 1910, where she and Torrey were greeted by a delegation of White House employees, including John Scott, who had been promoted as Pauline’s caregiver before her arrival.

Just days after arriving, Pauline delivered a 100-pound bull calf, which was as white as his mother. The calf was named Big Bill, making the comparison between the size of the calf and that of the president. Taft gifted the calf to W. W. Price, dean of the newspapermen attached to the White House.

Before Big Bill could be taken to Price’s Maryland farm, the calf died from what Stephenson told Taft was poor care. According to newspaper accounts, Stephenson believed that if the calf had been fed properly, he would be alive and well. Rather, the calf had been weaned from his mother and was being fed cold milk and corn meal.

When the cow was sent to the White House, Stephenson said instructions on feeding and care were included but not followed. Stephenson expressed concern that Pauline’s own health might soon follow that of her son.

Seemingly unconcerned with attention being paid her, Pauline settled into life as the country’s most notable cow. She spent her days grazing near the White House, where monuments stand today.

The Los Angeles Evening Express shared disdain in an editorial for the press coverage given the four-legged starlet, noting that Russian writer Leo Tolstoy chose an unsuitable time to die as, “our intelligent newspapers ... are greatly exercised at the moment, printing pictures, biographies and the genealogical record of President Taft’s cow.”

The country’s fascination with Pauline continued, and in May 1911, her favor was sought as the dairy cattle show season got underway. Organizers of the National Dairy Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, extended an invitation to Taft, imploring him to send Pauline to their exhibition. Not to be outdone, F. A. Cannon, the secretary of the International Dairy Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, requested the cow to return to her home state, where nearly 1,000 cows would be in exhibition.

Taft consented, becoming the first president to enter a dairy cattle show since Thomas Jefferson. Paying all expenses for Pauline’s exhibition from his own purse, Taft entered into a contract with Milwaukee’s Gridley Dairy Company to market the milk produced by the cow during her time at the exposition, for $5 per 8-gallon can. Gridley bottled the milk into souvenir bottles, which they sold for 50 cents each. It was estimated that Pauline produced 64 quarts per day.

Taft had concerns about sending the cow west and carried a $10,000 insurance policy on her. He required that she travel in a specialized car complete with an observation window and phonograph to deter her boredom. She was carried on the Baltimore & Ohio’s Chicago Limited train to curtail the duration of her travels. She traveled with an attendant and a veterinarian. Despite best-laid plans, Pauline’s trip did not go as planned, and she arrived at Stephenson’s farm in Kenosha two days later than expected.

When her car did not arrive with the expected train, The Burns Investigative Agency was instructed to locate her. While her caretakers left the train car for a few moments, the car was erroneously shunted to a train of beef cattle headed to the Chicago Stockyards, where Pauline was in peril of meeting an untimely end.

“Fortunately, when her car was opened at the stockyards, it was apparent that she was not a beef cow meant for slaughter,” said Joan Snider, president of the Marinette County Historical Society.

Marinette County is home to Stephenson, and the Marinette County Historical Museum holds several artifacts surrounding Pauline, including the milk can that accompanied her on her travels.

After Pauline returned to the White House from her trip to Milwaukee, Taft declined all invitations and offers she received, including a theatrical role in Minnesota.

Instead, Pauline settled back into quietly grazing near the White House, providing the Taft family with their fill of milk.

Taft lost his re-election bid in 1912 to Woodrow Wilson. While Taft remained in Washington, eventually being named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921 by President Warren Harding, Pauline did not.

By the time Taft’s term was up in 1913, Pauline’s health was deteriorating. The Taft family returned her to Stephenson. Taft and Stephenson hoped she would regain her youthful vigor. The Stephenson felt she would lend added dignity to his already well-known herd. When he dispersed his herd in August 1917, Pauline was among the cows that sold, bringing $360 at the age of 11.

SOURCES:

Kenosha History Center

Marinette County Historical Museum

Library of Congress

D.C. Public Library

White House History Quarterly

Asheville (North Carolina) Times

Florence (Wisconsin) Mining News

Hutchinson (Kansas) Gazette

Kansas City Journal

Kingston (Ontario) Daily Standard

Los Angeles Evening Express