Property Record
501 S PINE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Valecia Condensed Milk Co. |
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| Other Name: | Wisconsin Dairies Co-op |
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| Reference Number: | 87116 |
| Location (Address): | 501 S PINE ST |
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| County: | Sauk |
| City: | Reedsburg |
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| Year Built: | 1914 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19832023 |
| Historic Use: | dairy processing facility |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2023 - During the mid-twentieth century, Reedsburg had three large creameries producing primarily butter from the dairy farms of Sauk County, establishing an annual festival proclaiming the city the “butter capital of the world.” One such creamery was the Valecia Condensed Milk Company, originally of Madison, which constructed a large facility in Reedsburg in 1914 for $85,000 along the railway line. In 1918, the Nestle Food Company, an international conglomerate, bought the plant and used it for receiving, processing, storing, and shipping milk, cream, and butter. The facility grew with several additions and a railway sidetrack during the 1920s and 1930s, when it had the largest payroll in the city. The plant was purchased by Hillpoint Co-op dairies in 1946 and expanded several more times with additions, producing 50 million pounds of butter by the early 1970s, the most in Wisconsin at the time. The facility is still in operation under the the name Foremost Farms USA. |
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| Bibliographic References: | 2023 - Reedsburg Remembers 150 Years: A History of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, 1848-1998. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |