Then and Now: Wood & Weltzien/ Cornell Bros. Creamery

          In the fledgling years of Huntley's economy, dairy was one of the most popular forms of making a living. The low wetlands made it perfect to raise dairy cattle. With the boom of dairy cattle, many independent and big name creameries set up shop in Huntley. One of the earliest constructed was a large wood frame creamery by Delmont E. Wood in 1875 and 1876. According the 1877 McHenry County Directory and the 1885 McHenry County History Book, the creamery was one of the largest in the country and was supposedly the largest in the county. in 1877, the facility produced 100,000 lbs of butter and 600,000 lbs of cheese annually.
          In 1876, Wood partnered with John F. Weltzien in the ownership of this and four other creameries. Two of their other creameries included one that was located in Harmony, and one that was located at the corner of Conley and Haligus roads. The latter, which was constructed in 1874, was accountable for producing 30,000 lbs of butter and 150,000 lbs of cheese annually.
          A large fire destroyed the Huntley creamery in March of 1892, heavily disrupting business. Around this time, D.E. Wood left the partnership, and Weltzien partnered with Charles Cornell in 1893. A new wood and brick facility was constructed on the site, fitted with modern milk equipment. Once reopened, Weltzien and Cornell wasted little time and began producing large quantities of milk and butter. Records show that in the month of January, 1896, 1,106,243 pounds of milk were produced . In that year, John Weltzien sold his interest in the company to Cornell Bros., whom continued to operate the facility.
          Around 2 AM on May 7, 1907, a devastating fire broke out at the creamery. The entire structure was burned to the ground, with little more left than the charred remains of the equipment and the brick addition. Cornell Bros. would purchase land directly east across the tracks to rebuild. They demolished the ruins of their burned out structure, and used the debris as fill for the new structure.
          The old site would remain vacant and would eventually be incorporated into the grounds for Enos Conley's feed business.  Today the land is owned by Dean Foods and is used as a parking lot for their trucks and trailers.


This early envelope is from around 1876 when the Huntley plant was constructed.



An early view of the rebuilt facility looking north-west. Circa 1890. Courtesy Karen and Curtis Meyer.




RPPC of the plant closer to when the structure burned a second time. Circa 1906. Courtesy Karen and Curtis Meyer.




Postcard of the creamery while owned by Cornell Bros. Circa 1907. Courtesy Karen and Curtis Meyer.



After the devastating fire at 2 AM on May 7, 1907. Courtesy Karen and Curtis Meyer.



Today, nothing but trailers occupy the site. 06/09/2013.