The White House Milk Co., a subsidiary of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company since 1922, was also known as its National Dairy Division after 1968. The origin of the company can be traced to a milk condensing plant that was organized in 1917 and began operations in West Bend, Wisconsin, in 1918 under the White House name. On November 1, 1922, the company was purchased by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Harlan M. Clark, the former general manager, continued to serve in that position.
The company expanded rapidly, adding a milk receiving station in Mayville in 1923, a plant in Eden in 1925, and a plant in Winneconne in 1927. A new processing plant was built in Manitowoc in 1928 and the company's central offices were moved there that year. Plants were later built in Stratford, Abbotsford, Vesper, Marinette, and Marathon, Wisconsin, and Stephenson, Michigan.
From 1922 to 1951 the company produced primarily evaporated milk. In May 1945, it won a War Food Administration “A” Award in the processing of “Food for Freedom.” In the 1950s, the White House Milk Co. expanded its research into the growing field of dry milk production. The company was one of the innovators in this field. In 1955 the company had in use one of the first operational agglomerators to produce instant non-fat dry milk. Several patent disputes with the Carnation Company ensued, with a patent being issued to the research staff of the White House Milk Co. that was later assigned to the Cherry-Burrell Dairy Equipment Company.
From 1951 to 1970, the plants combined production of evaporated milk and dried milk products. Some even made ice cream and butter for a short period. The consolidation of the evaporated milk production in a plant in Pennsylvania in 1970 meant the end of operation for most of the Wisconsin receiving and processing plants. The Manitowoc plant continued to operate until March 1979 when the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company vacated the facility. Ownership of the company was transferred to the Associated Milk Producers Cooperative, Inc. on January 1, 1979.
