Penn Mary Coal Company records indicate that as early as 1909, Superintendent Harry Dowler had exchanged correspondence with W.H. Johnson in nearby Arcadia regarding the possibility of starting of a dairy in Heilwood. However, no other reference can be found concerning this undertaking until December 27, 1912, when the Indiana Evening Gazette reported that “27 head of Holstein cows had been purchased in Washington County, Pennsylvania by the Penn Mary Coal Company.”  This suggests that the dairy facilities were constructed and ready for operation.

Signing a 20-year lease on 400 acres of farmland located northeast of the town, the Heilwood Company managed the new facility. The dairy consisted of three main buildings (see photo). The largest was a two-storied frame building, 40’ x 130’.  It had a concrete floor with water troughs, steel stalls, and stanchions. The second floor was divided into two areas - one for hay and straw, the other for feed. Located on the northeast side of the main barn, and connected to it by an entryway, were two silos, each holding 150 tons of silage. Adjacent to the silos was a smaller building - the milk house. This building was also connected to the main barn by an 8’ x 14’ entryway, which included a room for the “milkers” to change clothing, plus a room for milk scales and a laboratory!

The emergency building (or barn #2), contained the boiler room, coal bins, and six stalls for sick cows. Electricity and water were provided to the entire facility from the power house and water tank in Heilwood.

In addition to producing “regular” milk for the town, the Dairy also produced a “baby milk.”  This milk was produced by several cows that produced low butter fat content in their milk due to a special diet. This milk was sold especially for babies and “invalids” at a cost of ten cents a quart.

Documentation of the Dairy’s later operation is difficult to locate. However, the Indiana Evening Gazette reported on May 29, 1915 that, “The Heilwood Dairy continues to be one of the finest in Pennsylvania.”

Management for the Dairy appears to have been directly tied to the manager of the Company Store, who oversaw both operations. However, several references have been found that J.B. Hanna, Mr. Blackburn, and B.W. Ross also held some sort of management positions at the Dairy as well.

By 1919, the Heilwood Dairy no longer appeared on the Pine Township tax records. However, the main barn remained on the tax records until 1934.

It should be noted that in 1922, the “former” Heilwood Dairy site was offered to the Governor of Pennsylvania as an ideal site for the location of National Guard troops. The troops were stationed in Heilwood during the Summer and Fall of 1922, but they were instead located on “Soldier’s Field” (to be covered in more detail in another section later).