Located off of Kilbourne Rd. (below) near the Rte 41 (Skokie Hwy. upper left) intersection, the Bowman Dairy Company from Chicago built this facility in 1912 becoming the first major factory in Gurnee. Bowman was the largest importer of milk from Lake County into Chicago before the building was built. The factory shipped milk in bottles to Chicago in ice filled train cars. Bordering the facility was the train tracks. The company had obtained farmers West of Gurnee to consent in selling their milk to Bowman guaranteeing 400 8-gallon cans per day. The plant could accommodate 600 cans. In January 1929 there was a milk strike in three states by dairymen requesting higher prices and President-elect Hoover was asked to help in resolving the situation. Thousands of pounds of milk were dumped and a band of 100 farmers were carrying weapons. By February 1929, the Bowman plant was partially closed and began hauling milk into Chicago in tank trucks. Disruption of milk distribution continued through 1935. By 1937, the dairy plant was occupied by a brewery. The Village of Gurnee purchased the property and in 2000 they began construction of a new public works facility.

Fantastic! Thank you for the background story Vernon!