Dairy Farms

Several years ago Crittenden County had several farms.  There are none in the county today.  

One of these dairy farmers once said "it's the only kind of farming with a regular income, but is is confining, you milk twice a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  If it's Thanksgiving or Christmas, it doesn't matter, you go milk, if you got pneumonia, you go milk, if someone in the family dies, you bury them and go milk."

One of these farmers that operated a dairy farm in the 1920's was Paul I. Paris.  It was located about 2 miles East of Marion on Hwy. 120.  Mr. Paris sold and delivered bottled milk to Marion each day.

He also sold milk to the Evansville branch of Trice State Milk and Butter Company.  He would take his buckboard wagon full of his milk in the metal cans to the depot in Marion each morning.  There he would send a load of milk to Evansille, and pick up the empty cans from the shipment the day before.  This would be a regular two mile trip each day.

Another creamery that many of our local farmers used to sell their milk was the Sugar Creek Creamery in Evansville, Ind. 

 The 5-gallon cans of milk would be left at the local depots, Marion, Crayne, Mexico, Repton, and Nunn Switch. 

The passenger trains that ran through the county, twice a day, on their return trip to Evansville, would stop at the depots and pick up the full cans of milk and deliver them to the creamery in Evansville.

The next day on the return trip through Crittenden County the empty cans would again be left at the depots. 

This old cream can of yesteryear belonged to Mrs. Addie Vaughn of the Hebron community.  The little metal plate has her name and location where to leave the empty can.

These milk cans that were such a necessity for farmers, that had to have them to transport their milk to the creamery, over the years have become a treasured piece of family heritage.  

They are also used a decorative pieces for homes and a novelty item to display on porches.  They are also sold in antique stores as a piece of our past history.