King Barn Dairy MOOseum

06/06/2019

The Hines Family is featured this month at the Mooseum.

Wilbur and Vada Hines bought an historic farm in Montgomery County (MD) from members of their extended family in 1946. The 73-acre farmstead was located off rural Strawberry Knoll Road north of Gaithersburg, and provided their growing family with a comfortable and memorable livelihood for the next two decades. The family farm was one of the county’s nearly 450 dairy farms that shipped milk and dairy products throughout the area and to the Nation’s Capital.
The Hines family milked their cows by hand, using a cream separator to get fresh cream, and selling it to the nearby creamery near Bowman’s Mill. They also formed a market route, selling cream, butter, and eggs throughout the Gaithersburg area. Fresh vegetables went to the local grocery store. Crops of corn, wheat, oats, and hay went to support the dairy herd. Tractors finally replaced the two Belgium draft horses.
A special family gathering will take place on Sunday afternoon, June 23, at the unique King Barn Dairy MOOseum near Germantown to tell their story of farming with horses, raising crops and hogs, and milking cows in the suburban Maryland county. They’ll meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.
A Hines family exhibit has also been established at the MOOseum’s 1930’s dairy barn in the South Germantown Regional Park, off I-270 and Md. Rt. #118. Family members will be on hand to discuss their dairy farming heritage that has seen Montgomery County’s dairy farm industry dwindle to only two dairy farms still operating in the county. The MOOseum opened for the season on May 4 and is open on Saturdays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM through October.
The Hines family farm is posted prominently on the MOOseum’s unique electronic map board of Montgomery County dairy farms. Educational exhibits at the MOOseum have been designed to be of interest for all ages, and include a restored century-old milk wagon, a 1919 Model T milk truck, model trains representing rail transportation of milk, life-size models of dairy cows and Astronaut the famed Holstein bull. Samples of dairy equipment used in the county for the past 100 years are displayed and explained. Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come meet the Wilbur and Vada Hines family.

06/02/2019

Last of the school kids leaving the MOO for 2019! Hope to see them all again in 2020.🐄❤
#mooschool

05/27/2019

Chief Engineer Ike Brown leads the school group through the transportation center and explains the importance of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O to the growth of the dairy industry in Montgomery County.

05/14/2019

A Great Family Opportunity to Have a Free Breakfast and Visit a Working Farm!
Sign up early as it fills up quickly!

Mark your calendars for an opportunity to visit a local dairy farm and enjoy a delicious breakfast! The Burrier-Derr Family and the University of Maryland Extension is inviting you to the second annual Breakfast on the Farm on Saturday, June 22, from 9:00am to 1:00pm, at Valley-Ho Farm in Middletown.

This event is free, but pre-registration is required. For more information and to register, visit www.extension.umd.edu/breakfast-on-the-farm.

Photo credit: ALH wordandimage, LLC

05/13/2019

A Friend Stopped By to Visit on this Rainy Day!🙂☔🌧

05/10/2019

Come to the MOOseum on Saturdays in May, from 10 am - 3 pm, or the 4th Sunday, from 1 pm - 4 pm, and learn about the Garrett and Leroy Watkins Farm which was in Clarksburg, Maryland.

If you would prefer to look up information about this farm on your computer, go to our website: http://www.moosum.org, click on the Map on the lower right side of the screen and look for farm #360.

05/06/2019

ONE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY’S
OLDEST
FAMILY FARMS
TO BE HONORED AT KING BARN DAIRY MOOSEUM
May 26, 2019
1 pm- 4 PM

Members of the Garrett Watkins family has farmed on Stringtown Road in Clarksburg, MD for more than 100 years. For 74 years, the family was one of the county’s nearly 450 dairy farms, shipping milk throughout the area and to the Nation’s Capital. When milk production ceased in 1974, the family continued agricultural activities that today include small grains and livestock.
A special family gathering will take place on Sunday afternoon, May 26, at the unique King Barn Dairy MOOseum near Germantown to tell their family story of farming with horses, threshing grain, and milking cows in the suburban Maryland county. They’ll meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.
Garrett Webster Watkins purchased the farm before 1898 and began shipping milk in 1900. His son, Leroy Webster Watkins, bought the farm next to his parents, and shipped milk until 1974. By 1928, both father and son had built modern dairy barns, and raised their families in the rural community. Today, the family farm is owned and operated by William K. Watkins, and is posted prominently on the MOOseum’s unique electronic map board of Montgomery County dairy farms.
A Watkins family exhibit has been established at the MOOseum’s 1930’s dairy barn in the South Germantown Regional Park, off I-270 and Md. Rt. #118. Family members will be on hand to discuss their dairy farming heritage that has seen Montgomery County’s dairy industry dwindle to only four dairy farms still operating in the county. The MOOseum opened for the season on May 4 and is open on Saturdays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM through October.
Educational exhibits at the MOOseum have been designed to be of interest for all ages, and include a restored century-old milk wagon, a 1919 Model T milk truck, model trains representing rail transportation of milk, life-size models of dairy cows and Astronaut the famed Holstein bull, and samples of dairy equipment used in the county for the past 100 years. A unique inter-active dairy farm map pinpoints each of the family farms that once operated in the suburban county. Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come meet the Garrett Watkins family.

05/05/2019

One of the centers school children experience when touring the MOOseum is butter making.
#mooschool🐄

05/02/2019

The 2019 season begins with docents Nancy Brown, Mary Duvall, Garrie Black, Peggy Hart and Ike Brown awaiting our first school buses! The kids are back to the King Barn!! 🐄🏫
#mooschool

05/01/2019

Getting Ready for Opening Day!
MOO docents Bill Duvall and Jon Wolz discuss exhibits at the MOOseum in preparation for the big day.

05/01/2019

THIS Saturday, May 4th
is our opening
day for the 2019 season!
Please come out and visit!

04/29/2019

The King Barn Dairy MOOseum opens Saturday, May 4 - please come out and visit.
MOO docents Nancy Brown, Ruth Chesler, Peggy Stanford, Joe and Sharon Scopin, and Jon Wolz are getting the King Barn all spruced up for visitors!

04/27/2019

A new experience for MOO docents Don Barron, Nancy Brown, Peg Donnellon, Mary Duvall and Peggy Hart when presenting MOO to You to first graders Friday April 26: Sheltering in place in the school hallways due to a Tornado Warning issued by the Weather Bureau. Fortunately no tornado and the warning ended in time that the program could be completed and no child was left without a dairy bracelet, or churning butter, or learning about the processing of dairy foods, or leaning about the day in the life of a cow, or taking a barn tour via PowerPoint! A big thank you to docent assistants Christina and Nicolette for their help!

04/11/2019

MOOseum docents Garrie King Black, Don Barron, Peg Donnellon, Mary Duvall, Nancy Brown and Peggy Hart had a wonderful time with 1st graders for a MOO To You visit. The King Barn will be opening soon in May so students can visit at the MOOseum itself.

02/14/2019

01/01/2019

10/24/2018

10/03/2018

HALF-CENTURY OLD CHARLES KNILL DAIRY FARM
TO BE HONORED AT KING BARN DAIRY MOOSEUM

GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND (October 28, 2018) – The Charles Peter Knill family sold milk for 41 years from one of Montgomery County’s largest dairy farms, beginning in 1912. When milk production ceased in 1953, the Knill’s diversified 311-acre farm near Sellman was also producing a wide variety of poultry, eggs, grains, and vegetables for local consumption.
A special family gathering will take place on Sunday afternoon, October 28, at the unique King Barn Dairy MOOseum near Germantown to tell their family story of when more than 430 dairy farms once covered the suburban Maryland county. They’ll meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.
Simon Peter Knill purchased the farm in 1911. His son, Charles Edgar Knill, moved to the farm in 1912, raising a family of nine children over the next four decades. Along with dairying, they grew corn, wheat, oats, and hay, as well as vegetables, poultry, and hogs. In the 1920’s, the family built a 30-stanchion milking barn, and several years later, purchased a strong steel-wheeled Farmall F-30 tractor. From the 1940’s, the farm transitioned from work horses to tractors, from hand-milking to vacuum milking, and from wheat threshing to combines. The farm is posted prominently on the MOOseum’s unique electronic map board of dairy farms.
A Knill family exhibit has been established at the MOOseum’s 1930’s dairy barn in the South Germantown Regional Park, off I-270 and Md. Rt. #118. Family members will be on hand to discuss their dairy farming heritage that has seen Montgomery County’s dairy industry dwindle to only four dairy farms still operating in the county. The MOOseum will close for the season following the Knill family open house.
Educational exhibits at the MOOseum have been designed to be of interest for all ages, and include a restored century-old milk wagon, a 1919 Model T milk truck, model trains representing rail transportation of milk, life-size models of dairy cows, Astronaut the famed Holstein bull, and samples of dairy equipment used in the county for the past 100 years. The MOOseum is open on Saturdays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM, May through October. Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come meet the Knill family.

09/10/2018

ONE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY’S OLDEST FARMS
TO BE HONORED AT KING BARN DAIRY MOOSEUM

GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND (September 23, 2018) – One of Montgomery County’s (MD.) oldest family dairy farms will be honored on Sunday afternoon, September 23. Descendants of the C. Clifton and Ruth Veirs family will gather at the unique King Barn Dairy MOOseum in the South Germantown Regional Park to tell their story of when more than 430 dairy farms once covered the suburban Maryland county. They’ll meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM. All are welcome.
The 192-acre family farm fronted on West Montgomery Avenue (Route #28) coming out of Rockville.
It was one of the largest down-county farms, with fields of corn, wheat, and hay. The family began shipping milk in 1937, with a herd of 70 grade Holsteins, with fresh milk going to Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Association. It was “Capital Milk for the Capital.”
Farming operations continued until 1960, when urban development forced sale of the farm, and it became end of an era for an old established family farm operation. The Veirs descendants will be on hand to discuss their dairy farming heritage that has seen Montgomery County’s dairy industry dwindle to only four dairy farms still operating in the county. The MOOseum is open each Saturday from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM, in addition to the special Veirs dairy farm family recognition on Sunday afternoon, September 23.
A Veirs family exhibit has been established at the MOOseum’s 1930’s dairy barn in the South Germantown Regional Park, off I-270 and Md. Rt. #118. The family story is part of the MOOseum’s continuing Sunday series to showcase how farms contributed significantly to the county’s 240-year-old history.
Educational exhibits have been designed to be of interest for all ages, and include a restored century-old milk wagon, a 1919 Model T milk truck, model trains representing rail transportation of milk, life-size dairy cows, Astronaut the famed Holstein bull, and samples of dairy equipment used in the county for the past 100 years. A unique dairy farm map pinpoints the 430 family dairy farms that once operated in the suburban county. Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come meet the Veirs family.

08/21/2018

HISTORIC IMMIGRANT DAIRY FARM FAMILY
TO BE HONORED AT KING BARN DAIRY MOOSEUM

GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND (August 26, 2018) – The John Windolph family’s dairy farm was a part of Montgomery County’s (MD) agricultural history for three generations, until it succumbed to urban pressures in 2000. Descendants of the family will gather on Sunday afternoon, August 26, at the unique King Barn Dairy MOOseum to tell their story of when more than 430 dairy farms once covered the suburban Maryland county. They’ll meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.
​John Windolph and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 1898 to find their fortune. In 1930, His son, John Francis Windolph, bought a 375-acre farm along Darnestown Road (Route 28) in Dawsonville, where they produced milk, small grains, vegetables, poultry, and hogs. John Francis and his wife Emma raised two children on the family farm, and produced milk for 29 years until 1959.
​During the nearly three decades, the Windolph family transitioned from work horses to a Farmall Model F-20 tractor, and from shipping milk in ten-gallon cans to a 300-gallon stainless steel bulk milk tank. Agricultural activities on the farm ended in 2000 when the farm was sold.
A Windolph family exhibit has been established at the MOOseum’s 1930’s dairy barn in the South Germantown Regional Park, off I-270 and Md. Rt. #118. Family members will be on hand to discuss their dairy farming heritage that has seen Montgomery County’s dairy industry dwindle to only four dairy farms still operating in the county. The MOOseum is open each Saturday from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM, in addition to the special dairy farm family recognition on Sunday afternoon, August 26.
Educational exhibits have been designed to be of interest for all ages, and include a restored century-old milk wagon, a 1919 Model T milk truck, model trains representing rail transportation of milk, life-size dairy cows, Astronaut the famed Holstein bull, and samples of dairy equipment used in the county for the past 100 years. A unique dairy farm map pinpoints the 430 family dairy farms that once operated in the suburban county. Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come meet the Windolph family.

07/12/2018

Lancaster Farming

Lancaster Farming

“This is an opportunity to bring the public out to get an idea of how animal agriculture is working,” said Chris Anderson, 4-H youth development specialist. “This is a great facility here as it has many faces of the dairy industry and we get their opinions about what they saw on their tour.”

07/12/2018

Germantown.life

🐄

Germantown is home to a neat little museum known to all as the King Barn Dairy MOOseum. Check it out!

http://germantown.life/2018/07/11/have-you-seen-the-mooseum/

08/15/2016

Come visit us in Barn 21 at the Montgomery County Fair!

08/18/2015

Come see us at The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair-

05/04/2015

2015 King Barn Dairy MOOseum Featured Farms Schedule

May 24 “ Walnut Farm”
Owned and operated by the Nathan and Grace Stiles
Shady Grove Road, Rockville, MD

June 28 ”Beneva Farm”
Owned and operated by David Weitzer
Sugarland Road, Poolesville, MD

July 26 “Wyndo Farm”
Owned and operated by the John and Bernice Doody
Mountain View Road, Damascus, MD


August 23 “Winding Lane Farm”
Owned and operated by Henry C. Carter
West Montgomery and Hurley Avenues (Route 28)
Rockville, MD

September 27 ”Pond View Farm”
Owned and operated by
Allie Messer and Edith Stiles Messer
Route 124, Laytonsville, MD

October 25 Garner Duvall Farm
Owned and operated by
Garner W. Duvall and Helen King Duvall
Clopper Road, Boyds, MD

04/30/2015

The MOOseum's Latest Addition. A BEAUTIFUL Model T Ford Milk Truck!
Stop in to visit us SOON!
We open THIS Saturday, May 2nd!

08/08/2014

Come Visit us at the Montgomery County Fair next week! We will have a huge display in Barn 13 and would LOVE to see you!!!

08/04/2014

The MOOseum's special visitor Congressman John Delaney

07/23/2014

2014 FEATURED FARMS

SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014 THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO JOIN IN A 50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FOR WORLD-RENOUND HOLSTEIN DAIRY BULL, PACLAMAR ASTRONAUT!

JULY'S FEATURED FARM – Wayne Warfield and Family of Babbling Brook Farm, one of the few remaining Dairy Farms still operating in Montgomery County, will greet guests from 1:00 -4:00 pm


AUGUST’S FEATURED FARM; The Bussard Farm which was an operating dairy farm in the 30’s and 40’s and today is known as THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY AGRICULTURE PARK. On, Sunday, August 23, 2014, Debbie Lee will give a presentation about life on this farm when her grandfather milked cows there and the many events the Farm Park has to offer today.

SEPTEMBER’S FEATURED FARM: Come and visit the Leman’s who operated a dairy farm off Clopper Road, Germantown, MD. The Leman Family will greet visitors at the King Barn Dairy MOOseum on Sunday, September 27, 2014, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

OCTOBER’S FEATURED FARM: PEACE AND PLENTY FARM – operated by Joe and Nona Schwartzbeck on Quince Orchard Road, Gaithersburg, MD until the late 60’s before selling the family farm and moving the entire operation to Carroll County where it’s become a very well known family operation today in the Holstein World. Come by and meet the Schwartzbeck’s on October 26, 2014, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm.