Dairy Operations

Dairy Operations. . Shortly after purchasing St. James Farm, Chauncey and Marion McCormick constructed a state-of-the-art dairy barn and assorted outbuildings to support their award-winning herd of Guernseys. The herd was established in 1926, and at the time, DuPage County was one of the greatest milk-producing counties in northern Illinois. Over the next 20 years, St. James Farm's buildings housed a dairy operation that served as a standard for Midwest farmers. , , Dairy Barn , During the 1930s, the McCormicks built onto the estate's original dairy barn and tripled its size. The barn's main floor had roomy, private stalls and was described at the time as an "immaculate," well-ventilated building. Down its center aisle which was lined with milking stations, over 60 cows were milked twice a day. An upper hayloft stored hay for the cows. An east extension on the bam, since removed, housed calving and sickly cows. , , By 1941, the McCormicks had over 100 cattle housed in the dairy barn and nearby outbuildings, including the stable. Many of these buildings were later renovated or built to accommodate the growing herd. , , "Field Days" , The dairy barn took center stage for annual "Field Days," one-day educational forums for the Northern Illinois Guernsey Breeders Association. During these forums, the McCormicks freely shared their knowledge with hundreds of farmers, which resulted in increased production and quality throughout the dairy industry. , , Outbuildings , Many of the outbuildings accommodated keeping and breeding Guernseys. , , Milk House , The farm's milk house, a trademark of the early 20th-century dairy farm, was filled with refrigerators to cool large cans of milk. Sanitation laws required milk to be separated from a barn, which prevented contamination. St. James Farm sold its milk to Bowman Dairy, which then provided the fresh milk by rail to Chicago. , , Breeding Barn , Guernseys were bred in a breeding barn. , , Calf Shed , The calf shed, originally a long structure that connected to the dairy barn, housed calves. The truck shed is all that remains of the former structure. , , Bull Barn , One of two structures, a bull barn housed bulls separate from the females and was located near the dairy barn.