Knerr Dairy

The Knerr Dairy was started in 1907. At the time the creamery business had had a less than successful history in Fargo. Three times dairies had opened, and all three times they had closed abruptly, leaving farmers without their cream checks. Some of the equipment from the closed creameries was picked up by W. O. Knerr, and his son Frank O. Knerr opened the first Knerr Dairy at 7 8th Street S. The business quickly outgrew its small quarters, and a new building was constructed at 13 8th Street South in 1910. The business continued at this location until 1921, when it moved again to 824 Front Street (Main Avenue). The company claimed to be the producer of 15% of all ice cream produced in North Dakota in 1923. They were famous for their “Knerrishing Kind” brand of ice cream and Knerr Select Brand butter. The dairy was sold in 1946 to Paul B. Person and Milton S. Paulson, and they continued to operate it under the Knerr name until they sold it to Bridgeman Creameries in 1958.

Sources:
Fargo and Moorhead City Directory. Fargo, 1881-1927.
Polk’s Fargo and Moorhead City Directories. St. Paul, MN: R.L. Polk and Company
“Another dairy building empty in Fargo” The Forum (26 Oct. 1980): B-11.