King Barn Dairy MOOseum

02/14/2020

Happy Valentine's Day!
🐄❤🐄❤🐄

02/07/2020

Board members Don Barron and Bill Duvall at Montgomery College Volunteer Opportunities Event earlier this week.

REMEMBER you do not have to grow up on a farm to volunteer with the MOO and make a contribution to preserving the dairy history of Montgomery County.

If you are interested, please drop us an email at:

[email protected]

02/04/2020

The latest MOO to You after school program at Wayside Elementary.
#mooschool 🐄

01/25/2020

01/01/2020

11/09/2019

The Mooseum is Packing Up for Winter.😢❄☃️

Thanks to all visitors and volunteers for another successful year!🐄❤

10/29/2019

Thank You for Another Successful Fall Festival!
🍁🎃🍂

10/23/2019

Don't Forget🙂

10/14/2019

10/09/2019

Save The Date!

10/09/2019

The Mooseum Participating in the Germantown Octoberfest Parade.
What a Fun Event!🐄🍁

09/23/2019

The MOOseum
Will Be Closed Saturday, September 28th
For a private event

09/23/2019

Poolesville Days!

09/19/2019

An Early Head Start group from Gaithersburg came to visit the Museum.
A good time was had by the toddlers, parents, staff and MOO docents!
#mooschool 🐄

09/07/2019

Another successful
Moo to You school visit.

This time students learned how to make butter!
#mooschool 🐄

08/29/2019

Our young audience enjoyed another fun filled day of Moo to You!
Today we enjoyed playing with stuffed cows, singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm and creating our own barn with farm animals to take home.
#mooschool

08/27/2019

Our September Featured Farm will be the
Heisler Family Farm

A special family gathering will take place, with the Heisler family explaining their exhibit and their special dairy farming heritage on September 22nd from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.
Come meet the Heisler family and learn the story of their dairy farming tradition.

Kenneth G. Heisler moved his family to the former Maughlin farm at rural Boyds (Montgomery County, MD) in 1942. For the next 30-plus years, the Kenneth and Alice Heisler family operated one of the county’s largest dairy farms, eventually reaching 372 acres.
The Heislers built a 60-stanchion modern milking barn, replaced their horses with an Allis-Chalmers WD45 tractor, assembled a dairy herd of Holstein, Jersey, and Guernsey cattle, and added hogs and chickens to supplement farm income, all the while raising four children on the active farmstead.

08/25/2019

The MOO docents went to three daycare centers this week to present the MOO to YOU program.
When the kids can't come to the barn, we try our best to bring the barn to them through technology.
#mooschool

08/13/2019

While visiting the Montgomery County Fair don't forget to stop by the Heritage Building and see our display!
#moo🐄

08/12/2019

Montgomery County Fair is underway!
Stop by for a visit!

08/05/2019

LEISHEAR FAMILY TO TELL THEIR DAIRY FARM STORY
AT THE KING BARN DAIRY MOOSEUM
August 25, 2019

For 64 years, the Chester M. Leishear family operated one of
Montgomery County (MD)’s largest dairy farms. It was one of nearly 450 family dairy farms that once spread across the
suburban county adjacent to Washington, D.C. The family will gather on Sunday afternoon, August 25, at the unique King
Barn Dairy MOOseum near Germantown to tell their story of farming with horses, raising corn, wheat, oats, and hay, and
producing Grade A milk.
It began during the Great Depression, when Chester and Ethel Leishear purchased a 60-acre farm on Riggs Road near rural
Laytonsville. In 1938, the family purchased and moved to a larger 180-acre farm on Prices Distillery Road near Damascus. It
became the base for three more farms and even more rented land in the Kings Valley area, that finally totaled more than
1,000 acres. It was one of Montgomery County’s largest family farms.
The Leishears transitioned to vacuum milking, and from ten-gallon cans to a refrigerated bulk tank by the early 1950’s. In
1958, the Leishears built a double-six herringbone milking parlor, where they milked Holstein and Brown Swiss cows,
eventually reaching 250 head. Milk was shipped to Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Association, a farmer-owned
cooperative serving the National Capital region.
The Leishear family farm is posted prominently on the MOOseum’s unique electronic map board of Montgomery County
dairy farms. By the middle of the 20th Century, there were more than 450 family dairy farms in Montgomery County.
Today, there is one operating dairy farm left. Educational exhibits at the MOOseum have been designed to be of interest
for all ages, and include samples of dairy equipment used in the county for the past 100 years, and including a 1904 horsedrawn dairy delivery wagon and a 1919 Model T delivery truck.
A special family gathering will take place, with the Leishear family explaining their exhibit and their special dairy farming
heritage in 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 meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM on August 25. The MOOseum is open on
Saturdays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM through October. Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come
meet the Leishear family.

08/01/2019

Farm Tour 2019 was a great success!!
196 visitors for the weekend!
#farmtour2019 #moo

07/28/2019

A Fun Filled Day at the Mooseum Farm Tour🐄

07/21/2019

Beat the heat! Stop by for a visit today!

07/16/2019

Come Visit Us for Farm Tour Weekend!

07/09/2019

What is it? 🤔
Come to the MOO on Saturday
10 am - 3 pm and find out.

07/01/2019

120 visitors enjoyed the MOOseum during Heritage Day on Saturday, June 28th!

Thank you to adult docents Don Barron, Ike Brown, Nancy Brown, Frank Cornelius, Peg Donnellon, Bill Duvall, Mary Duvall, Janet King, Steve Martin, Mirian Martinez, Barbara McGraw and student docents Avery Donnellon, Omar Khan, and Ronnie Martinez for helping to make everyone's visit memoriable.

06/28/2019

July's Featured Farm Family
THE WHITE FAMILY
CENTENNIAL DAIRY FARM
TO BE HONORED AT KING BARN DAIRY MOOSEUM
July 28th 1pm-4pm

The Frank Malcolm White family lived and worked on a 175-acre dairy farm near Dickerson (Montgomery County) MD for nearly a century. Their descendants will gather on Sunday afternoon, July 28, at the unique King Barn Dairy MOOseum near Germantown to tell their story of farming with horses, raising corn, wheat, oats, and hay, and shipping milk for more than 50 years in the suburban Maryland county. They’ll meet the public from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.
Mansfield (Max) and Ella White’s parents originally owned the farm from the 19th century. Max and Ella moved to the farm in 1913, and bought it in 1923. The historic farm was located west of rural Dickerson, and provided their growing family with a comfortable and memorable livelihood for the next five 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 White family milked their 75 cows by hand in a 30-stanchion bank barn, transitioning to vacuum milking, from ten-gallon cans to a refrigerated bulk milk tank, and from work horses to tractors by the 1950’s. Milk was shipped to Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Association, a dairy cooperative. At 175 acres, the White farm was considered one of Montgomery County’s largest farms.
A special family gathering will take place, with the White family explaining their exhibit in 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.
Admission is free, although contributions are welcome. Come meet the Frank Malcolm White family.

06/23/2019

Join us TODAY for our featured farm Sunday!

06/17/2019

Story time at the Mooseum!
Docent Peggy Hart is sharing a story with local Mom's Club members. Always a fun day at the Mooseum! 🐄❤

06/17/2019

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.