Page 23 - DairyOnThePrairie

Spring Branch Creamery,
probably John Stewart's sec-
ond one, erected in 1877,500
feet north of thefirst. Courte-
sy of the State Historical So-
ciety of Iowa, Iowa City.72

Branch Creamery, built in Delaware County in 1872. served by a man who understood that rave reviews

John Stewart was born in Ohio and served in the meant sales: Stewart's butter also won acclaim at Lon-

Union Army for four years during the Civil War. Pri- don and New York exhibitions. Other Iowa butter

or to moving to Iowa, Stewart ran butter and cheese makers began receiving national butter awards soon

dealerships in Missouri and Illinois. He moved to after—solidifying the Iowa butter image of superb

Delaware County in 1870, where he practiced the quality. Iowa cheese, while improving in quality, did
same trade, diversifying to butter production in 1872.73 not receive similar accolades.

Stewart is given much credit not only for operat- Stewart's creamery "system" consisted of buying

Portrait ofJohn Stewart.70 ing the first creamery, but also for legitimizing the the milk from farmers within a three-mile radius of

JOHN STEWART quality of Iowa factory butter. Stewart won several his Spring Branch facility, and using the cream to make

The early stimulus to local butter production was first place awards for butter. By 1874, he had es-
the arrival of butter dealers, who sampled product
and then purchased much of the following year's pro- his butter at competi- tablished other nearby
duction on contract from individual farmers and farm-
ers' wives. In 1862, L. A. Loomis of Delaware County tions in St. Louis, and creameries and additional
was the first local person known to sign one of these
butter contracts, specifically to supply the boats of the in 1876, he exhibited Delaware County creamer-
Northwestern Packet Company. Loomis traveled the
countryside, buying up home-made butter which he and marketed his ies quickly arose. Stewart
in turn shipped to the Packet Company. Others soon
followed in his footsteps.71 butter at the Centen- moved to Anamosa in

Much as cheese-makers saw profitability in facto- nial Exposition in Jones County in 1878 or
ry manufacture of cheese, so too did butter makers.
The first creamery in Iowa was John Stewart's Spring Philadelphia, where 1879, and by 1880, he

he won the Interna- owned or had an interest in

tional Gold Medal— creameries in Jones, Dela-

an extraordinary ware, Linn, Cedar, Jackson,
honor that literally and Cherokee counties.74

put Iowa butter on In 1889, Stewart left Jones

the global economic County and began work at

map. The Iowa butter a Minnesota creamery.

industry was well- Loomis' Butter dealership. Courtesy ofthe State Histor-

ical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.