“An empire built on cheese and butter”

Written by John Cow on August 18th, 2007

Cows are inextricably interlinked with the history of California.

Mooing as they arrived, the first cattle were brought up from Mexico around the turn on the 18th century. Their destination was the missions, and they were used in all the ways that cows usually are. So much in demand were these fine beasts that the sale of cowmodities helped to strengthen the trading outposts in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Monterey.

The Russians living at Fort Ross used to export butter and cheese to Alaska, and many of the incoming pioneers brought their own moo cows along. Cows were more like giant family pets than a cowmodity used in big business. When the Russians left, John A. Sutter inherited their cattle, but he later became a lot more busy being the person to discover gold and not end up stinking rich.

All that changed when the first of the Steele family farmers, cousins George and Rensselaer Steele, came to California in 1855. A year later they were joined by George’s brother Edgar, and Isaac showed up in 1857. (He walked much more slowly.) Because of the perishable nature of dairy, it could not be shipped far. The San Franciscans liked their butter and milky goodness, and the Steeles stepped in to supply.

Their story is a classic one of seeing a niche and grabbing it with both hands. Soon, the operations in Marin weren’t enough, so they bought 45,000 acres near Santa Cruz (it’s now Año Nuevo State Preserve.) When that wasn’t enough, they hopped another hundred or so miles and got another few thousand acres there, too.

The Steele Dairy Ranch was in operation for eighty years. Now, all that remains are a few buildings; the barn is used as a visitor center of the abovementioned preserve. But the dairying industry thrived and grew, the industrial revolution provided such delights as automated milking and separation of cream from milk, and today California is one of the largest dairy producers in the USA.

A simple historical marker explains that the Steeles owned an “empire built on cheese and butter.” It’s true. And there’s yogurt in my fridge to prove it.

Linda R. Moore is the blogger-in-chief of Raven’s Roads, a site about her adventures in motorcycling and life. She is the Chief Markeroon at historical marker hunting site Markeroni, the Gentle Art of Landmark-Snarfing (visitors can find information about historic sites and then come back ot the site to log them, journal-style.) The author of a travel book, A Little Twist of Texas, she lives to write and writes to live.

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20 Responses to ““An empire built on cheese and butter””

  1. CREATT Group says:
    November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am

    links from Technoratiused in big business. When the Russians left, John A. Sutter inherited their cattle, but he later became a lot more busy being the person to discover gold and not end up stinking rich. All that changed when the first of the Steele […] ?ród?o: ravensroads

  2. John Cow dot Com - MyBlogLog says:
    November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am

    links from Technorati “An empire built on cheese and butter” - 3 days ago Cows are inextricably interlinked with the history of California.Mooing as they arrived, the first cattle were brought up from Mexico around the turn on the 18th century. Their destination was the missions, and they were used in all the

  3. John Cow says:
    August 18, 2007 at 2:46 pm

    5 stars just because we love cow success stories!

  4. Sabrina's Money Matters says:
    August 18, 2007 at 5:51 pm

    Right on! Texas is the king of the cow, for obvious reasons, lol. :D

  5. Steven says:
    August 18, 2007 at 7:39 pm

    There seems to be a trend going on here LOL. Guest posts relates more to cows than make money online… Hrm… HAHA

  6. Guest post at internet Moogul JohnCow.com | Raven’s Roads. How to live an interesting life. says:
    August 18, 2007 at 8:16 pm

    [...] guest post is up at JohnCow.com! Check it out–I wrote about the history of the dairy industry in California. addthis_url = [...]

  7. beautyredefined says:
    August 18, 2007 at 10:25 pm

    Interesting, but I have to say that as a native of Wisconsin, I got pretty upset when I saw the “Happy Cows come from California” commercials - while in Wisconsin.

  8. Angel says:
    August 19, 2007 at 8:25 am

    I vote for more cow-related posting.

  9. Mentions 19 August 2007 | Raven’s Roads. How to live an interesting life. says:
    August 19, 2007 at 2:17 pm

    [...] but definitely not least, it’s really cool to be able to talk about cheese and butter on JohnCow.com. addthis_url = [...]

  10. Angel - win $100 on my blog says:
    August 20, 2007 at 5:48 pm

    You know, I haven’t had a decent cheese sandwich for about two years. That really sucks.

  11. Steven says:
    May 15, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    There seems to be a trend going on here LOL. Guest posts relates more to cows than make money online… Hrm… HAHA