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The two-story building on Salem Avenue once housed a longtime local dairy company.
Before there was Homestead Creamery, there was Garst Brothers Dairy.
This longtime Roanoke Valley dairy company once was located on Salem Avenue in Roanoke, pictured here.
Nowadays, the former dairy’s clear glass milk bottles with orange logos are considered antiques.
The business began when Monroe Garst purchased Hemlock Farm in Roanoke in 1912. He developed the farm into a large dairy operation, with milk produced for market, and beef and registered Guernsey cattle for breeding stock, according to “Places Near the Mountains,” a history book by Helen R. Prillaman.
Eventually, Garst divided the farm between his sons, Wiley and Miller Garst. Wiley Garst owned the home tract on Autumn Lane in Northwest Roanoke.
In 1923, the Garst family founded Garst Brothers Dairy, which primarily was housed in a two-story building on Salem Avenue in Southwest Roanoke. The building has been home to Beckner Boiler & Supply Co. in recent years. It was equipped with mostly new machinery, a pasteurizing area and a chemist who maintained the quality of the products. At the time, the plant was one of the most modern of its kind in Virginia, according to a 1936 article in The Roanoke Times.
The company manufactured about 250,000 pounds of butter annually and sold grade A milk and buttermilk. It also operated 20 delivery routes, according to the article.
Miller Garst took his plot of land and branched out into the poultry business. He operated a 40-acre Garst hatchery on Hershberger Road.
Pet Milk Co. purchased the dairy in 1961, but members of the Garst Brothers company remained involved with the business, according to The Roanoke Times.
The story above is from our September/October 2022 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
