Got Milk?

From Milk Barrels to Doorstep Deliveries: The Lost Charm of the Milkman Era

Many of us remember the days when milk was delivered to our doors in glass bottles. Sadly, those days are gone. We are left with plastic jugs and cardboard containers we send to landfills or, hopefully, to recycling. There are still some local farms which offer alternatives, but for the most part reusable glass bottles and, certainly, daily home delivery, are things of the past.

Milk delivery, for those who didn’t have their own cows, used to be done by men with wagons carrying the milk in large metal “milk barrels”. Home milk deliveries began around 1785 in Vermont.  Over time, 10-gallon and 5-gallon milk cans were used. As they moved down the street, women would come to the wagons with their pails, and the milk would be ladled into the pails. This left a lot to be desired when it came to sanitation!

The Glass Bottle Revolution

Glass bottles, which first made the scene around 1879, presented a great improvement. Dr. Henry Thatcher obtained the first U.S. patent for his glass milk bottle in 1884. By 1889 the regular use of glass bottles for milk delivery became standard. Daily delivery reflected the general lack of refrigeration – daily delivery meant fresh milk would remain unspoiled if kept cool until the next delivery. Victorian homes often had a large, thick piece of slate on which milk bottles and items such as cheese could be kept on to keep cool. Terracotta pots soaked in water could also hold bottles of milk and keep them from spoiling due to the cooling effect of evaporation.

The first glass bottles were sealed with a porcelain stopper. The porcelain stopper was, in turn, replaced by a glass stopper. Around 1900, the bottles were sealed with a waxed cardboard “capseal”. Some bottles also had a bulge in the neck of the bottle in which the cream would accumulate. Once milk began being homogenized so the cream would no longer separate, those bottles disappeared from use.

Dating the Bottles

If you happen to have an old glass milk bottle, the shape may tell you something about its age. A bottle with a round bottom and tall, steep sides is probably from the 1930’s or earlier. The bottles with square bottoms and shorter sides are from the 1940’s or later. On the bottom of some bottles you may find a 2-digit date to indicate the year, as well as some other markings.

The feeling of a simpler time – and some names – remain unforgettable

Homes receiving milk deliveries had a “milk box” outside. The empty bottles from the previous day, and any payment due, would be left in the box for the milkman to take as he left the new supply. As one who remembers milk in glass bottles being delivered to our door by a milkman who was always friendly and on time, I question whether the progress we have made is progress at all… and I still remember the milkman’s name after all these decades!

Originally published in the March 2024 edition of our newsletter, Yore Connection