Willowmere Dairy


Company Names, addresses, dates:
   Willowmere Farms Dairy, Fairfax, VA (ca.1907-ca.1959) 1

Notes:
 Burt Freeman Salsbury (1884-1954)2 was the owner of the Willowmere Farms Dairy, and a national figure in Guernsey cattle breeding3.
He started in 1907, when he purchased a well pedigreed Guernsey cow named "Miss Virginia". He would eventually expand to a herd of 175 cattle.1

The earliest newspaper advertisements for Willowmere Farms that I could find started in 1917, but the ads were for cows and eggs that were for sale, so I don't know if he was bottling his milk at that time, or delivering it to another dairy.4

In 1930, he published a legal notice describing his milk bottles and warning others not to use them - so he was definitely bottling his milk by that time. The notice mentions bottles of 1-quart, 1-pint, 1/2-pint, and 1/4-pint.5
I have not seen any of the 1/2 or 1/4-pint bottles from Willowmere Farms.

Salsbury's Willowmere Farms got a restraining order in 1937 to prevent him from selling milk in Arlington & Alexandria for prices less than the price set by the State Milk Commission.6

Salsbury passed away in 1954. There are newspaper mentions of his farm/dairy for a few years after that, apparently run by his wife Bertha Lillian Salsbury (1895-1970)7. In 1959, she sold her remaining cows and teamed with builders to build houses on the former farm.1

  Location
Various ads for Willowmere Farms over the years list the location as "Fairfax", "Railroad station Dunn Loring", and "Merrifield".
The 1950 US Census lists the Salsbury household address as the 4th house on the left on "Road 744". From viewing old maps of Fairfax, I found that "Road 744" was modern day Hilltop Road, west of where it intersects to Old Lee Highway. For what it's worth, Hilltop road intersects a road named "Willowmere Drive".


Bottles

willowmere_03 This is a 9.5" (1 quart) clear bottle that is embossed:
in a circle on the shoulder: SEALED / 11
slug plate: WILLOWMERE FARMS / B.F. SALSBURY / FAIRFAX, VA.
above slug plate: ONE QUART / LIQUID
base: MTC
willowmere_01a willowmere_01b This is a 9.5" (1 quart) clear bottle with orange pyroglazing. Front & rear views are shown. The pyroglaze says:
front pyroglaze: WILLOWMERE FARMS / B.F. SALSBURY / FAIRFAX, VA.
rear pyroglaze: GOLDEN GUERNSEY MILK
embossed on front heel: 1 QT. LIQUID / SEALED 11 B 1 embossed on rear heel: REGISTERED
willowmere_02 This is a 7.25" (1 pint) clear bottle with orange pyroglazing. Front & rear views are shown.
The pyroglaze is the same as the bottle above, except smaller, and it says:
front pyroglaze: WILLOWMERE FARMS / B.F. SALSBURY / FAIRFAX, VA.
rear pyroglaze: GOLDEN GUERNSEY MILK
embossed on front heel: REGISTERED
embossed on rear heel: 1 PT. LIQUID / SEALED 11 PA. B


Other Items
willowmere_04 This is a 2.25" diameter cardboard milk lid with blue and yellow markings that say:
around the edge: WILLOWMERE FARMS / B. F. SALSBURY, Owner / PASTURIZED / GRADE A MILK
inside center circle: GOLDEN GUERNSEY / LICENSED / BY / GOLDEN GUERNSEY, INC. / TRADE MARK

1 Northern Virginia Sun, 1-Jul-1959, p.14, article: "Farm Wife's Energies Turn to House Building"
2 Find-a-grave entry for Burt Freeman Salsbury
3 Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper Jul 6, 1954, page 29, obituary for B.F. Salsbury
4 The Southern Planter, 1-Apr-1917 p.283 and 1-Dec-1917 p.671 (ads for egs & cows)
5 Fairfax Herald, 5-May-1930, p.6 (legal notice about Salsbury milk bottles)
6 Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper Nov 4, 1937, page 3, article: Restraining order Issued Against Milk Seller
7 Find-a-grave entry for Bertha Lillian Salsbury


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This page last updated on November 21, 2023.