The Caumsett Foundation

Dedicated to the conservation of

Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve

 

By Walter D. Kolos


The Caumsett Barns, were the crowing center piece of the utilitarian complex known as the Farm Group. This area, comprised of dairy barns, a bottling plant, garages, workshops, homes and offices, was the primary “engine” of the Marshall Field Estate. It was here that the mundane operations and transmissions which kept Caumsett functioning took place.

Construction of the Farm Group commenced in 1922. Designed by John  Russell Pope, with the assistance of Alfred Hopkins, the design was consonant with the Georgian Revival tradition of the other estate structures. The attention to detail was remarkable. and the buildings, no matter hoe utilitarian, all had architectural  features which were carefully considered. Dental moldings, fan windows with delicate tracery, and numerous other classical details were used skillfully to create an esthetic composition.

Although different styles and configurations were employed for this complex, it is visually unified. A rhythmic myriad of horizontal lines is punctuated by two silos, a classical cupola, and numerous roof vents. Even though the Farm Group does not possess the regal grandeur and symmetry of many of the other large buildings at Caumsett, t is still a pleasing - and very imposing, collection of shapes and sizes. Also, unlike the other buildings such as the Main House, Stables, Winter and Summer Cottages, the Farm Group was constructed entirely of wood, and unlike the other buildings was not fire proof!

The barns, which were the center of the compound, served a variety of functions. At the center, and the grandest of the structures, was the hay barn with its broad gambrel roof. To the southwest of it was the test barn, where the cattle were dutifully watch, and the milk and butterfat production was recorded.

In the milking barns, the herd assemble for the daily milking. Originally done by hand, in later years the procedure was performed by machines. After the milk was collected, it was carried to the bottling plant next door, brought upstairs, and poured into a large vat. The “hot” raw milk then trickled over refrigerated rods, and when sufficiently cooled, was deposited in the milk bottles below. Bottled and capped, the milk was stored in a refrigerator at the plant. Not pasteurized or homogenized, the Caumsett Farm milk was renowned for its thick, spoonable cream which filled the neck of the bottle. Brush’s Dairy in Huntington handled the sales of much of the milk.

Of course, this premium milk could have been produced without “premium” cattle. The Caumsett herd, comprised of one hundred registered Guernseys, was famous for its high quality. Two of the best known members of this herd were Caumsett Dynamo, a bull, and Caumsett Ida. In the day before artificial insemination was standard procedure, bulls were kept in the bullpens for the sole purpose of maintaining the stock. Caumsett Dynamo, renowned for his pedigree, was featured in the Borden’s Dairy pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair as “Elsie the Cow’s consort.

Caumsett Ida was one of the greatest Guernsey milk producers of all time. Under official supervision, she produced over 100,0000 lbs. of high butter fat milk in less than five and a half years. Producing twice her weight in milk a month, her total output would have filled the swimming pool at the Caumsett bath house! Both animals are buried in the barnyard, their graves marked with granite tombstones.

The cattle were under the supervision of John Spencer Clark, who in addition to being the manager of the estate, served as mayor of Lloyd Harbor (1946-1952). Marshall Field’s death in the fall of 1956 marked the end of the dairy operation. In 1957, the herd was sold intact ti Highmeadow Farms near Syracuse NY.

In addition to the dairy, the Farm Group was composed of an array of buildings which served the estate in a variety of ways. Included in the complex were garages, horse stalls, a machine shop, a carpenter’s shop and a hospital for ailing cattle. In the early days, draught horses were used for some of the work on the place, the grading of roads being one of their main functions.

Close to the present superintendent’s office, there was a weighing station. All deliveries of coal, hay and fertilizer had to be weighed by the estate staff before they could proceed onto the property. There was an ice making plant next to the bottling station. All deliveries of coal, hay and fertilizer had to be weighed by the estate staff before they could proceed onto the property. There was an ice making plant next to the bottling plant, producing most of the ice used throughout the estate. Until the Second World War, iceboxes-not refrigerators, were in service in all the kitchens on the place. Also, until the time of the war, heat, gas cooking, and electrical refrigeration became universal, thus making the Farm Group less important in the estate’s operation.

The Farm Group was also a residential center, with several houses including three large family dwellings at the top of the service drive. At the North end of the group, was a ten room boarding house for single men. Supervised by a resident cook, the dormitory had a dining room where meals were served family style. There was a laundry on the premises, and the Farm Group workers also had their own beach and cabana, where the fishing station is now located.

With luxurious residences and facilities, Caumsett was known as one of the crowning glories of Marshall Field’s property. The success of the estate could not have been achieved without this working “engine”, which enabled Caumsett to exist as a genteel. and self-supporting showplace.     

  1. BulletThe Caumsett Farm Group

Under official supervision, she produced over 100,0000 lbs. of high butter fat milk in less than five and a half years. Producing twice her weight in milk a month, her total output would have filled the swimming pool at the Caumsett bath house!

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