Niagara Falls dairy had a horse-and-wagon delivery fleet in 1915

By

Published May 26, 2023 at 12:17 pm

The drivers at H. C. Badger Dairy on Ferry St. in Niagara Falls get ready to driver their horse-drawn wagons all over the city delivering fresh milk, circa 1915. (Photos: Niagara Falls Public Library)
Although there is precious little information online about him, the Niagara Falls Public Library Facebook page used Throwback Thursday to highlight a local dairy that delivered milk door-to-door on horse-drawn wagons back in 1915.

“Dairyman H. C. Badger opened a ‘fine new dairy’ on Ferry Street in 1915,” said the NFPL.

“Milk was brought in from farmers in the large metal milk cans. It was pasteurised, put into bottles and then delivered to customers by milkmen who used horse drawn wagons.”

Back in those days, the milk delivery man would place fresh bottles of milk into the milk boxes (near the front or side door of the house) and take the empty bottles before collecting his payment.

By the 1930s and 1940s, most homes in North America had their own refrigerators, allowing milk to be kept cold and fresh in the house.


Left: An unidentified woman in front of the dairy’s sign. Right: H. C. Badger himself.

The actual address of his milk factory was 782 Ferry Street and the Badger Dairy factory lasted until the late-1930s before the business shut down.

A series of restaurants and souvenir shops took advantage of the proximity to Clifton Hill and the Falls. John Fedor opened the Rainbow Restaurant in 1957, which was rebranded as the Hungarian Tavern in 1962.

Other businesses that existed in the area were Trade Winds Gift Shop, Howard Johnson’s Restaurant & Tavern, Mr Greek Restaurant, Ponderosa Steak House, Tony Roma’s and the ill-fated Johnny Peppers, which burned down in 2013.

The site is currently home to Chuck’s Roadhouse Bar and Grill.

“Although probably not delivered by horse and carriage, how many of you can remember when milk was delivered door to door?” asked the NFPL.


Chuck’s Roadhouse Bar and Grill is now located at 782 Ferry St where 100 years ago, the dairy once stood.

inNiagaraRegion's Editorial Standards and Policies