The Dairy Building 1854

Built with more of the beautiful Bishop Hill brick, this building was both the home and work place of the dairy maids. The dairy maids were the single women who processed milk into butter and cheese. This work was done on the first floor. Enough cheese and butter were made daily to feed the several hundred folks who lived in the community in its heyday. The ground floor was where the dairy products were stored in the cooler cellar underground. When the community dissolved the building was carved into three apartments providing housing for village residents for 122 years, from 1861 until 1982. The Bishop Hill Heritage Association acquired the building in 1985. Extensive restoration was done over the next few years with the last major projects completed in 2014. Now it has one apartment, a second floor artist’s studio and a meeting room available for rent. The Heritage Association also hosts concerts and an annual lecture series focusing on local and regional history.