Remembering the Konyn Dairy


According to the Valley Center History Museum, the property which operated as the Konyn Dairy traces its roots to 1933 when it was known as the Roest Dairy.  It was farm land prior to that.

In the 1950s and 60s dairy farming was a thriving business in San Diego County. There were about 160 dairies operating in the county.  In fact, according to the San Diego Farm Bureau, in 1948-49 dairy farming was the number one ag product in the county, far outstripping citrus and avocados.

For many years the dairy was one of the first things that motorists would see as they drove into the town. During the summer it was one of the first things that they smelled. But, for residents of the time, it was just one of the things that you took for granted about country living.

But “progress” put most dairies out of business, or forced them to operate in the Central Valley. Clean water regulations made it harder to operate—and eventually impossible.

Now the land that was once the dairy will be evolving into the next step of human development, medium density residential housing.

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