Monday, February 6, 2012
This farm was the oldest and largest of its kind, from the time of its founding in 1887, to the time it was sold to Prairie Farms in 1989. The 1989 acquisition by Prairie Farms provided an additional $60 million of annual revenue for the company.
The founding member of Pevely Dairy arrived in the Saint Louis area in 1841 and went to work creating the first business of this kind west of the Mississippi. In the early 1880s, they expanded their market from the rural area they served into Saint Louis city. They were eventually awarded contract to be the sole provider of their product at the 1904 World's Fair. They would go on to construct the landmark Pevely Dairy plant in Saint Louis in 1917. The delivery of their product was accomplished by horse-drawn wagons and they would eventually have over 350 routes and even employed zebras in some cases.
The farm was abandoned by 1989 at the time the company was sold. The family's mansion remains nearby, abandoned as well.
Update: All Pevely Dairy locations have since been demolished.
