Old Willis Dairy

The Old Willis Dairy was a working dairy farm in the 1930s that has been preserved and renovated into a special events venue. The dairy farm was established in 1937 by F.E. Willis and his wife, Emma Kate Hilliard. The twenty-acre farm became the largest independent milk producer in Tallahassee. Willis Dairy operated two drive-through dairy shops in the 1960s; one was on Centerville Road near the dairy farm and one was 1t 1239 Jackson Bluff Road in Tallahassee. The dairy farm had their milk bottled at a bottling plant in Tallahassee.

In 1940, Franklin E. Willis was a 39-year-old who lived in a house he owned on a farm in U.S. Census District 3 in Leon County; the house was worth about $4,000. However, F.E. Willis was working as an auditor for the comptroller's office. He shared the farmhouse with his wife, Emma K. (34 years old), and three children: Franklin E. Jr. (12, in grade 4), Mattie J. (5), and Benjamin F. (4). In 1934 and 1936, Franklin E. and Emma K. Willis lived on Green Street in Tallahassee, according to the city directory, where Mr. Willis worked as an auditor for the state comptroller's office.

Perhaps the head of the next family listed in the 1940 census was running the dairy farm: D.W. Williams (23) was a Black farmer who worked as a commercial laborer on a farm. Mr. Williams shared a rented house located on a farm with his wife, Fairlea (21, Black), and their children Annie L. (4) and Clarence (4 months). In 1935, Mr. and Mrs. Williams lived in Camillus, Georgia.

The Willis family was notified in mid-2017 that the property was not zoned for this type of private special events business. Since the farm is less than a mile north of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, noise and traffic concerns were raised. The issues were sorted out, and the property remains open. The Willis family hoped to reduce impact on the neighborhood by limiting events to last no longer than 10 p.m. and to restrict amplified music to inside the restored barn.

Alston, Davondra M. "Rezoning of Old Willis Dairy hits another snag." Capital Outlook (Tallahassee, FL) June 7th 2017. Weekly ed.

Council on Culture and Arts, Leon County. Old Willis Dairy, Tallahassee Arts Guide. November 3rd 2019. Accessed December 5th 2020. https://www.tallahasseearts.org/venue/old-willis-dairy/.

Old Willis Dairy. Old Willis Dairy, Instagram. November 30th 2019. Accessed December 8th 2020. https://www.instagram.com/oldwillisdairy/.

R.L. Polk and Company. Polk's Tallahassee City Directory 1934 Including Leon County. Jacksonville, FL. R.L. Polk & Co., 1933.

R.L. Polk and Company. Polk's Tallahassee City Directory 1936 Including Leon County. Jacksonville, FL. R.L. Polk & Co., 1936.

Simply Entertaining. Old Willis Dairy, Simply Entertaining. June 1st 2016. Accessed December 5th 2020. http://simplyentertainingtallahassee.com/portfolio-item/old-willis-dairy/.

State Library and Archives of Florida. Photographs, Florida Memory. January 1st 2020. Accessed December 8th 2020. https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/photographs/.

U.S. Census. Household of Franklin E. Willis in Leon County District 3, Florida, Dwelling 362. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1940.

U.S. Census. Household of D.W. Williams in Leon County District 3, Florida, Dwelling 363. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1940.