The Splendor of Mount Vernon Dairy: A Legacy of Excellence in WV

You must read every word below to understand fully what West Virginia has lost.

Nestled in the rolling hills about 40 miles from Charleston, West Virginia, the Mount Vernon dairy operation stood as a shining example of agricultural excellence and refined vision. Founded by H.E. Shadle, a prominent businessman who once helmed the successful Morgan Lumber Company, the dairy represented his bold new chapter—one that would leave an indelible mark on the region’s history. No expense was spared in the creation of this extraordinary enterprise. The farm was a masterpiece of planning and design, featuring a stately manor house that crowned the property like a jewel. Surrounding it were expansive, perfectly maintained barns, lush pastures, and no fewer than twelve charming cottages that housed the workers—a testament to Shadle’s commitment to both quality and community. At its peak, Mount Vernon was home to some of the top-rated dairy cows in the entire nation. These elite animals were raised and maintained with unmatched care, producing milk of the highest standard. The Mount Vernon dairy plant, located in Charleston, matched the farm in both beauty and functionality—an immaculate, state-of-the-art facility that set new standards for cleanliness, efficiency, and innovation in dairy production.  It was an exact copy of the famous Mount Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia.  And that's not the only connection, as the beautiful Mount Vernon farm property once belonged to George Washington himself. Shadle’s vision was not merely to run a farm, but to craft an ideal—a place where agricultural excellence met aesthetic beauty, where workers were valued, and where quality reigned supreme. The legacy of Mount Vernon dairy is remembered not just for its award-winning cows or its architectural elegance, but for representing the pinnacle of what a farm could be: splendid, self-sufficient, and proudly ahead of its time.

Now let's take a tour of the farm....

This photo shows just a small part of the farm itself.

Just one of the large dairy barns.

The interior showing the prize winning cows.

Here are those prize winning cos grazing across the road from the farm.  At the time, this was Route 35.

Every farm needs a chicken house, but have you ever seen one that looked like this?

Lets not forget that all of this magnificence was newly operated right in the middle of the Great Depression! And the largest Trade magazine devoted to dairies all over the world featured the Mount Vernon Farm on their cover in March of 1932.

These are the photos that accompanied the article above. This was the milk plant in Charleston.

This is the milk plant in Charleston on the West Side.  It's a perfect replica of George Washington's home.

Unlike the eyesore of a milk plant currently operating on the West Side today, Mount Vernon was all Class.

On a different Subject

Here we see Harold Bitner Shadle with Wiley Post, who was a highly famous aviator in the 1930s, renowned for his record-breaking feats and pioneering contributions to aviation. He was particularly known for being the first person to fly solo around the world and for his work on high-altitude flight, including the invention of the pressurized flight suit.  Here he's seen with his famous plane the Winnie Mae, where he landed at Wertz Field on Aug 1, 1931.  The interesting thing about this photo is that Post is not wearing his eye patch, even though the Internet states that he always wore it after his accident in 1926.  However, even the Oklahoma Historical Society has photos of Post not wearing his patch in the early 30s.  This just goes to show that you cant completely trust anything you read on the Internet. H.B. Shadle is on the far right.

This Gazette Article from 1926  illustrates the grand home and dairy operation.

But not only was it WVs most modern plant, few could match it anywhere.

This article discusses the entire operation, including the plant in Charleston, of which anyone who ever lived on the West Side was probably familiar with. No expense was spared to make the Mount Vernon Dairy the most beautiful business this valley ever saw.  Unlike the other dairies who's ugly industrial buildings dotted the landscape, Mount Vernon was a class act that you didn't mind having in your neighborhood.