The Alabama College Dairy
Dublin Core
Title
The Alabama College Dairy
Date
1908-1960
Creator
John Bawden's Digital History Classes
Description
This collection explores the history of the Alabama College Dairy.
Language
English
Coverage
1910-1960
Rights
The University of Montevallo
Collection Items
Alabama College Dairy
President Palmer and the board began discussions to buy property for a dairy on May 20, 1908. His idea for starting the dairy was "to furnish the school with good wholesome milk and butter at a reasonable cost." By 1913 the Alabama College Dairy was…
Alabama College Holstein-Friesian Cows
Alabama College had a herd of certified Holstein-Friesian cows. The prized cows of Alabama College brought great pride to the school and surrounding community. The cows won numerous state and regional awards for their milk production. In a ten month…
Moo Manor
The Alabama College Dairy was shut down in 1960, after fifty years of operation. The herd and the dairy equipment were sold. The Dairy barn was then converted into an apartment house. The five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom apartment became…
The Cow Blanket That Can't Come Off!
An advertisement sent to the Alabama College Business Manager, W.J. Bailey, for a Cow Blanket from the R. Laacke Company. There is a letter that precedes the advertisement which alludes to the fact that it is the third letter which was sent after the…
The Other Side of Cows
Pictured here is the Alabama College’s herd of certified Holstein-Friesian cows at milking time. The twice-daily milking process took over an hour. After milking the cows were let out into the pasture to graze and walk around. The dairy was operated…
Moving the Herd
This letter written in 1929 about Alabama College’s first dairy had been around for about 20 years at this point, but it had not been updated since it was first built. The letter is written by a building coordinator pleading with the board of…
Tuberculosis Test
This is proof of a result of a tuberculin test done on a herd of 102 Jersey and Holstein cattle done on June 24, 1930. The tuberculosis vaccine was developed in 1927, but still not very wide spread. The cattle tested for tuberculosis were given an…
Letter Regarding the Cleanliness of Milk Cans
A handwritten letter from U.D. Franklin to future president and current business manager E.H. Wills regarding milk cans being returned to the dairy without being cleaned thoroughly. During 1927 tuberculosis was at an all time high, and the first…
Invitation to the Fair
This is a letter to Alabama College regarding the college bringing a herd of cattle to the 1927 State Fair. The Fair was held in Birmingham, AL at the state fairgrounds and was held from September 26th to October 1st. The letter came from the desk of…
Tuberculosis Free Certification
This is a certificate notifying the Alabama College that the herd of 96 Holstein cattle, located in Montevallo, AL are tuberculosis free. The certificate was issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture and…
Alabama College Farm and Cows
These are photographs of the Alabama College Dairy's cattle which consisted of both award-winning Holstein and Jersey cows. By the end of the dairy's operation in 1960, the cattle consisted of over a hundred cows. All cows occupying the campus farm…
What Alabama College Offers - Bulletin
The small staple bound bulletin, What Alabama College Offers, was distributed throughout the state of Alabama to promote Alabama College. It includes descriptions of the college campus, environment, and avaliable course work in a pocket size format…
Milking Machine Letter
The Correspondence between President Thomas Palmer, of the Alabama Girls’ Technical Institute, and the Empire Cream Separator Company in Bloomfield, New Jersey began on January 15, 1918. On February 18 he confirmed in a letter that he had purchased…
Grim Reaper
On August 15, 1927 Alabama College received a letter containing an advertisement for a new insecticide called Grim Reaper, along with a free sample of the product. The pesticide’s pricing was relatively inexpensive even when adjusted for inflation. …
Alabama College Wins Prize
The Holstein Friesian Association of America sent Alabama College (as The University of Montevallo was known from 1923 to 1969) a check on May 28, 1929. The check was made out for the amount of thirty dollars in prize money ( $435.29 in 2017). The…
Hinman Handshake
Beginning on October 15, 1917 President Thomas Palmer entered into correspondence with the Hinman Milking Machine Company based in Oneida, New York. He was seeking information about purchasing a milking machine for the dairy farm at the Alabama…
Matador Segis Walker
Matador Segis Walker was one of the many cows owned by the dairy farm at Alabama College. He was born December 18, 1926, a Pure Bread Holstein-Friesian. The registry traces the cow’s lineage back 3 generations. Its father, called a sire, was…
Dairy Over Budget
These are a few of the documents which show the school's budgets and reports prior to the closing of the dairy. Although there is no clear explanation as to why it was closed or when it was even discussed, the reports suggest it was due to financial…
Bottle Cap
Alabama College, later the University of Montevallo, established a dairy to provide the school with easy access to milk and butter. Eventually, the school began to sell the milk to local grocers. They used glass bottles with these types of cardboard…
Grazing Dairy Cows
This undated photograph of the Montevallo dairy was taken some time during the 1940s. The photograph depicts several dairy cows grazing in the pasture with the barn in the distant background. The dairy closed about ten years after this photo was…
Dairy Inventory 1916
Alabama College kept detailed records once it established the campus dairy in 1915. This inventory circa 1916 outlines the types, numbers, and prices of its livestock. For context, $1.00 in January 1916 is equivalent to approximately $23.00 in 2017.