Orange in Orange County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Orange Dairy Company
Clyde Spears established the Orange Dairy Company at this site in 1941, where he pasteurized and bottled 800 gallons of milk every day. The Orange Dairy Company collected raw milk from at least 16 local dairies, including the Peveto Family and the Eddleman Family's Moonglow Dairy, which supposedly milked its cows by the light of the moon. The two-story red brick building retains many features of the original dairy processing plant, including the ceiling hooks which held a cooling system. Ceramic tiles, which were originally installed at the dairy for sanitary purposes, still cover the walls and floor. But in the postwar economy, Orange's thriving dairy industry could no longer operate on a small scale the necessity of pasteurization, as well as the invention of new milking technologies like the rotolactor, significantly raised operating costs.
At the same time, better refrigeration and lowered transportation costs brought Orange into competition with dairies as far away as Wisconsin even a 1945 city ordinance requiring all milk sold in Orange to be pasteurized in Orange could not save the local dairies. The number of dairy cows in Texas, which had been slowly growing through the first half of the 20th century, plummeted 80 percent between 1945 and 1971. The Orange Chamber of Commerce boasted in 1940 that its
dairies had produced one and a half million gallons of milk, but by 1953 most of this production had to be dumped because it cost twice as much as out-of-state milk. Borden, a nationwide dairy company with Texas roots, bought out and closed the Orange Dairy Company in 1948.Erected 2015 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 18198.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce.
Location. 30° 5.413′ N, 93° 44.319′ W. Marker is in Orange, Texas, in Orange County. Marker is at the intersection of Division Street and South College Street, on the right when traveling west on Division Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Orange TX 77630, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jimmy Ochiltree Sims Home (within shouting distance of this marker); Orange County and the Civil War (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Orange County (about 700 feet away); Historical Sketch of Orange County (about 800 feet away); Homesite of Dr. Edgar William Brown (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lutcher Memorial Church Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); The City of Orange (approx. 0.2 miles away); Orange Chamber of Commerce (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orange.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2019. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2019, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 346 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 3, 2019, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana.