1464 Old Trenton Road
Highland, Illinois
618-654-7957

Louis Latzer was born in 1848 and died in 1924. He was educated at nearby McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, and at Illinois Industrial University in Champaign, Illinois. He returned to Highland when his father died in 1869 so that he could run the family's farm. In 1887, Louis took over the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company located in Highland. Said to have been a keen student of chemistry and bacteriology, Lewis became curious about why milk spoiled. Product spoilage was a huge problem which had reach drastic proportions prior to his taking over the Helvetia. Latzer perfected the process of condensing milk and the company became a huge success. In 1922, the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company became the Pet Milk Company and expanded to include 23 processing plants across the United States.

Louis built this homestead for his wife and family in 1901. The home had many modern features of the day, including running water pumped by hand to a holding tank in the attic, a manufactured gas light system, speaking tubes between many of the rooms and one of the first telephones in the community. In 1977 the Pet Milk Company deeded Louis Latzer’s home and forty acres of his farm to the Highland Historical Society. This became the Louis Latzer Homestead.

The Pet Milk Museum has items pertaining to the Pet Milk Company. The museum has a 1941 30-foot long miniature diorama of a Pet Milk factory which shows the Pet Milk process has moving parts that functions during the Homestead Harvest Days event the weekend after Labor Day.

Visiting the Latzer Homestead
You can tour the Latzer Homestead and the Pet Milk calling 618-654-7957. Groups of eight or more are preferred.
The Homestead is also open at the annual Homestead Harvest Days in September.
The grounds are available for rent for showers, weddings, and meetings.
Free, donations welcome