Name/Title
Espanore Farm LetterheadScope and Content
A letterhead and letter from Adam E. Ferguson of Espanore Farm of Lansing to the Soo Hardware in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Espanore Farm Dairy (1913-1916) - Operated on Lansing's westside, the Espanore Farm had 35-40 cows which produced certified milk. This is a scarce one third quart amethyst glass bottle, machine made by Thatcher Mfg. Co. in 1914. The Espanore Farm appears in local newspapers beginning around 1913. Purchased from Dr. Harry A. Haze by Michigan Governor Chase S. Osborn, as he viewed the land as valuable and Dr. Haze was not utilizing it efficiently. Governor Osborn, who left office soon after making the purchase, put the land to use in a partnership with his son-in-law Adam E. Ferguson. The dairy farm was operated by Ferguson, and later by L.M. Hatch. It was operated as the Espanore Farm Dairy until Spring 1916 when the Dyer-Jenison-Barry Land Co. purchased the dairy farm section of the land from Osborn for a neighborhood plat. In 1919, Billy Durant purchased the west acreage of the Espanore Farm from Osborn to build a new auto plant, which was built by 1922. The rest of the farm acreage between Saginaw St. to the north and Shiawassee St. to the south was platted as the Espanore development, just west of the Westmoreland subdivision. Osborn Road is among the few remnants of this history remaining in the neighborhood.