MOO News issue I - 3rd Quarter 2024

From the President...

Welcome to the NEW King Barn Dairy Newsletter, MOO News.

Over the course of time, this newsletter will share with readers information about the exhibits in the MOOseum, the history of dairy farms and farmers, and any current events or happenings in and around the MOOseum.


Please encourage your like-minded friends, to sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the home page on the MOO’s website. Also, let us know topics you would like to learn more about by sending us an email. After all, our mission is to share with you all the rich dairy history of MoCo.

- Peg Donnellan

Calendar 3rd Quarter 2024

The MOOSEUM IS OPEN!

For the remainder of the 2024 season, the MOO is open Saturdays from 10 am - 2 pm.
Our last Saturday open is Oct 26, 2024


The 2025 Season Opening Date will be Saturday, May 3rd!

King Barn Dairy MOOseum Annual Fall Festival

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2024 10 am to 2 pm

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
Countdown finished!

This special event held every year is fun for the whole family!
You can look forward to special decorations & exhibits, such as making apple cider, and face painting!
- wear a costume if possible -

King Barn Dairy Farm History & MOOseum

From Farm to Park


Visitors driving to South Germantown Recreation Park view highways with speeding traffic and a multitude of homes and businesses to reach a park with open space and a variety of activities to choose from. Plus, the Park has one, long structure recalling its earlier life – the King Barn, which houses the MOOseum. From the M-NCPPS/Montgomery Parks website you learn that Parks began acquiring the land we now call South Germantown Recreation Park in the 1960s in order to preserve open space and provide the parkland for residents in northern MoCo. Most of the park’s 695 acres of rolling hills once belonged to the James and Macie King Farm.

Imagine the Past


Given the views of today, it is hard to believe that only 60 years ago much of Montgomery County was covered with dairy farms. Imagine arriving to what is now South Germantown Recreation Park by walking over rolling green pastures with grazing cows, growing corn and drying hay. That is what you would have seen from the 1930s-1960s.  Dairying was the most successful type of farming in the county in the mid-20 th Century. In one year, the county’s cows produced over 12 million gallons of milk that sold for more than $6 million. The dairy cow was “Queen of the County.”


James and Macie King bought the farm in 1913 and moved into the 1880’s home and farm with their small son. They converted the farm into a dairy farm and soon added two daughters to the family. After a fire in 1926 destroyed and damaged all 13 of their farm buildings, they began to rebuild. In 1930 they built this long barn, where 72 cows were milked twice a day, the only structure that remains of the dairy farm today.

The non-profit King Barn Dairy MOOseum


Housed in that long barn through a successful private-public partnership with M-CNNP/Montgomery Parks, the MOOseum is active in preserving the history of dairy farms in Montgomery County Maryland . The mission of the MOOseum is to keep the rich dairy history of MoCo alive for residents and the many out of state visitors to South Germantown Recreation Park. 


The MOOseum has a multitude of exhibits on all things dairy – a herd of cows from breeds milked in MoCo, cow models to milk, and information and artifacts on the transportation of milk, the life of dairy farmers and the history of where the 600+ dairy farms were in MoCo.  Children enjoy the old-fashioned, outside games, making cow themed crafts, playing with farm toys, hearing stories about farmers, and learning exactly where milk comes from.


We invite you to explore the MOOseum and encourage those interested to come and visit us during our open season, which runs from May to October annually. For the latest details on special events, please check our website.

MOO News issue V - Fall 2025

September 30, 2025
From the President…. Since I not only was a student for years, but a teacher and educator as well, Fall always feels exciting because of new beginnings. The MOOseum Board of Directors feels that way, too, tinged by the knowledge that soon the MOO will be closed for the winter. The MOOseum is housed in a 1930 long barn and it lacks heat as well as air conditioning…believe me it gets cold in there in the winter. The 2025 open season has been wonderful! By the end of September we have had over 2,300 visitors, with one more month to go. We like to celebrate this season with a final special event – our Fall Festival held on Saturday, October 11th this year. There are special, spooky decorations, fall displays about what happened on the farm during that season, a scavenger hunt with prizes, and face painting from 11 am – 1 pm, and, of course, candy! Everyone is encouraged to come in costumes and we hope to have some parades in and around the barn. Listed below is our flyer about the Fall Festival – and since a picture is worth a 1000 words – pictures from previous years showing how much fun our docents and visitors have had at this event. A little history about the Fall Festival : our first student service learner (SSL) who started in the summer of 2010 when she was going into 6th grade, and who continued working with us through middle school, high school, college and into her working career was the MOO member who advocated for a special fall event. Her enthusiasm was contagious and she finally won the Board over to scheduling this special event which has become a highlight for all of us. So, please come and join us on Saturday, October 11th from 10 am – 2 pm for a joyful celebration of all that is Fall at the MOOseum!

MOO News issue IV - Summer 2025

July 1, 2025
From the President…. The MOOseum has had a fantastic beginning to the 2025 open season. There have already been 1,609 visitors to the MOO in May and June. On Heritage Weekend alone, 118 visitors came to check out our exhibits and hear presentations on Cow and Climate Change and the history of Irvington Farm/King Farm community. We hope to see you visit this year. Please encourage your like-minded friends, to sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the home page on the MOO’s website. Also, let us know topics you would like to learn more about by sending us an email. Your input helps greatly in our mission of sharing with you all the rich dairy history of Montgomery County (MoCo.) When I think of summer, I think of family reunions with all their fun and connections. Although there are currently only two working dairy farms left in Montgomery County out of the hundreds that existed in the twentieth century, there are many residents with deep family ties to former MoCo dairy farms. Since the MOOseum opened in 2010, farm families have been holding family reunions at the MOOseum when their farm was the Featured Farm of the Month. Below is Board member Suzanne Gartner’s story about her farm family reunion held at the MOOseum in September 2022. I hope you enjoy reading about her experience. Make sure you come out to the MOOseum this summer to learn more about Montgomery County Dairy Farms.

MOO News issue III - Spring 2025

April 22, 2025
From the President….  The Board of Directors and I are so very happy to see spring finally here! This winter felt awfully long, especially with those bitterly cold temperatures in January and snow that just stayed around way too long. The MOOseum will be opening on Saturdays to the public in just a few short weeks with the first Saturday May 3. There are quite a few school groups and community groups signed up for special tours in May and later this summer. We can’t wait to see how our new exhibit on How To Milk a Cow is received by our visitors. Our goal was to make this exhibit more hands-on with easy to read explanations. Currently, work continues on the exhibit; it appears, however, that is will be ready for our opening weekend. During the MOOseum’s open season we have three very special events. In this newsletter we want to share information about these 2025 events. We hope to see you at them this year. Please encourage your like-minded friends, to sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the home page on the MOO’s website. Also, let us know topics you would like to learn more about by sending us an email . Your input helps greatly in our mission of sharing with you all the rich dairy history of MoCo.

MOO News issue II - Winter 2025

January 13, 2025
From the President... Welcome to the King Barn Dairy Newsletter, MOO News. The King Barn exhibits have been covered for the winter. Although no visitors are currently touring the barn, this is the season that folks are arranging for spring group tours. Please be in touch to make arrangements for your group. In this issue, we thought it would be interesting to share with you how the Map & Research Committee identifies where past MoCo dairy farms existed. A big thank you to members Bill Duvall, Shelley Herron, Rich Rowe, and Chris & Howard Williams for your dedicated work. Please encourage your like-minded friends, to sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of Moo's website. Also, let us know topics you would like to learn more about by sending us an email . After all, our mission is to share with you all the rich dairy history of MoCo.