Sarasota in Sarasota County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Jackson and Katherine Bispham started a dairy in 1922 north of Sarasota with Sarasota County Dairy Permit No. 2. Later that year Bispham moved his operation to the area of present South Tamiami Trail and Fiesta Street, named it Bayside Dairy, and rented the existing farmhouse. In 1927 he purchased the farmhouse and 20 acres on the west side of the Trail. For a quart of milk a day the Bisphams also rented land around Oyster Bay and Field Road.
The bottles and dairy equipment were washed in a wood-fueled steam-powered bottle washer and sterilized in a steam chest. An electric pump pushed water through a cooler to chill the bottled milk. In the late 1930s the dairy converted to electricity. Hand milking and deliveries occurred morning and night; therefore, the hired help lived at the farmhouse. Workers were paid $1 a day plus room and board.
In the early 1940s Bispham purchased his first milking machines and pasteurizer. The first bottler filled two bottles at a time and covered them with paper caps. Later the bottles were covered with a metal cap. Three kinds of milk were available: "raw", pasteurized, and homogenized.
By 1950, Bayside Dairy had approximately 125 producing cows in an area increasingly pressed by development. The Bisphams sold their land on South Tamiami Trail and moved their operation to 420 acres in the Gulf Gate area (near present Bispham Road) that they had purchased in 1941.
By 1957, Bayside Dairy moved once again, this time to Ibis Street off Clark Road. At this location the Bisphams purchased their first automatic milking parlor equipment, which milked six cows at a time. By the mid-1970s, two men could milk 100 cows an hour.
Bayside Dairy, with approximately 850 cows and 15 employees, ceased operation in 1987. It was no longer profitable to use the land for dairy operation. Instead, the Bispham family developed the land into the Serenoa subdivision and golf course.
Erected 2002 by Sarasota County Historical Commission.
Location. 27° 17.217′ N, 82° 31.831′ W. Marker is in Sarasota, Florida, in Sarasota County. Marker is on South Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) just north of Fiesta Drive, on the right when traveling Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sarasota FL 34231, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Wallendas (approx. 2.1 miles away); Avondale (approx. 2½ miles away); Landing of the Scots (approx. 3.4 miles away); Methodist Church (approx. 3.4 miles away); Sarasota's Bayfront (approx. 3.4 miles away); Seaboard Railway Depot (approx. 3½ miles away); City of Sarasota (approx. 3½ miles away); John D. MacDonald 1916-1986/John D. and the Friday Liars (approx. 3½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sarasota.
Categories. • Agriculture • Settlements & Settlers •
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2017. This page originally submitted on January 27, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 109 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 27, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.