Cooksville Cheese Factory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cooksville Cheese Factory
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Cooksville Cheese Factory
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| Location | Evansville, Wisconsin |
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| Built | 1875 |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000395 |
| Added to NRHP | September 17, 1980 |
The Cooksville Cheese Factory in Evansville, Wisconsin is a special old building. It shows us how Wisconsin's dairy industry started long ago. This historic factory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. This means it is an important place worth protecting.
Contents
What Was the Cooksville Cheese Factory?
The Cooksville Cheese Factory was a place where milk from local farms was turned into cheese. It played a big part in the history of cheese-making in Wisconsin.
How It Started
In 1875, a man named Benjamin Hoxie began this cheese business in Cooksville. He bought milk from farmers living nearby. Then, he used the milk to make cheese right there at the factory.
A Cooperative Business
This factory was run as an agricultural cooperative. This means the farmers who supplied the milk also shared ownership of the business. Benjamin Hoxie was in charge of running the factory every day. The factory was quite large for its time. It could process milk from as many as 600 cows!
The Factory Building
The Cooksville Cheese Factory is a simple building. It has two stories and sits on a strong limestone basement. There is also a smaller, one-story part attached to the side. The building was designed to be useful and practical. It didn't have many fancy decorations.
More Than Just a Factory
The cheese factory was more than just a place to make cheese. It was also a meeting spot for the community.
A Social Gathering Place
Farmers would often meet there when they brought their milk. It was a place where they could talk and share news. It might have even been a meeting place for groups like the Good Templars. By 1894, the building was no longer making cheese. Instead, it was being used as a home for people to live in.
