The Dairy House

The Dairy House. . In the South, dairy buildings were small structures, usually 14 feet square with a gable roof. The buildings’ overhanging eaves, louvered ventilators, and insulated walls were designed to keep the milk cool inside. Milk was placed in shallow tubs for approximately ten hours until the cream separated and rose to the surface. Slaves collected the cream and churned it into butter. Dairy buildings were a measure of affluence, as milk, butter, and cream were luxuries of the planter class., (Sidebar) , Captain Samuel Mathews, Sr. established Mathews Manor (later renamed Denbigh Plantation) on the banks of the Warwick River near Deep Creek in 1625. Mathews was a prominent Virginian who commanded the colony’s militia and served as a member of the governor’s council. The Digges family purchased the property in 1720 and built this dairy building, c. 1740. By 1813, Richard Young acquired Denbigh Plantation, which remained in the family’s possession until the property was sold to a developer in 1963. After extensive archaeological work, a subdivision was constructed in the 1970s. Subsequently, the City of Newport News acquired the dairy building and moved it to Endview Plantation in 1999.