Remembering the Pabst Farms

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All good Milwaukeeans know that the Pabst family name is synonymous with world-famous beer, but few may know of Fred Pabst Jr.’s connection to the more agrarian pursuits of agriculture and livestock. In fact, Pabst purchased vast tracts of land near Oconomowoc, where he used sustainable practices to operate a fully self-sufficient 1,400-acre farm. Beginning in 1906 and continuing throughout his lifetime, Pabst specialized in both horses and cattle and was a pioneer in innovative farming practice.

The fascinating story of this beer baron turned farmer is captured in a new book by local author John C. Eastberg, who currently serves as the director of development and senior historian of the Pabst Mansion. Accompanied on the page by beautiful photographs of Pabst-family farmland Pabst Farms: The History of a Model Farm is a stunning journey through our state’s early 20th-century history and into the lives of one of the state’s most recognizable personalities. This glossy compendium is filled with more than 100 rare photographs from the Pabst Family Archives, showcasing an earlier time when Wisconsin held the premier standard in dairy farming.

Eastberg is a graduate of Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. His previous books include The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion: An Illustrated History and Layton’s Legacy: A Historic American Art Collection, 1888-2013. He has worked with the Pabst organization since 1993 and has spent most of the last decade serving as a guest curator and scholar at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Eastberg will speak at Boswell Book Co. at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 30.