Barn - Connemara Farms

Connemara Farms barn and dairy goats

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What is Connemara?:
Connemara was the name given to the property by it's third owner, Ellison Smyth. He named is for the region in Ireland where his family was descended from. When the Sandburg's bought the property, the name stuck with it. Therefore, visitors will often hear staff and volunteers referring to the property as Connemara and Connemara Farms.

What to Expect:
Visitors to Connemara Farms can see dairy goats that are descended from Mrs. Sandburg's famous herd (AKA the Chickaming Herd, named for an Indigenous Tribe from Michigan where the Sandburgs lived prior to moving to North Carolina). During open hours (10am-4pm daily), visitors can enter the barn yard and experience what may have been like for the Sandburg Family to take care of their goats.

Mrs. Sandburg owned and operated a goat dairy from 1935 to 1965. Here at Connemara, Mrs. Sandburg's goat breeding program produced internationally-recognized champion goats and led to the improvement of goats as milk producing animals. So, in addition to grooming the goats, visitors can also walk through the barn and pasture to see what a dairy goat farm operation was like at the time.

Mrs. Sandburg raised three breeds of dairy goats; Saanen, Toggenburg, and Nubian. Each breed can still be seen in the herd today. Rangers and volunteers are on hand to share this fascinating story about goats and Mrs. Sandburg's dairy goat operation.

If you want to learn more, but haven't had the chance to visit us yet, we encourage you to click here to learn all about Mrs. Sandburgs famous goat herd!

 

Toggenburg dairy goat at Connemara Farms

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Connemara Farms Today

Visitors to Connemara Farms can see dairy goats that are descended from Mrs. Sandburg's famous herd. She raised three breeds of dairy goats; Saanen, Toggenburg, and Nubian. Each breed can be seen in the herd today.

Toggenburgs: Toggenburgs were the first purebred goats in the Chikaming herd. This breed originated in the Toggenburg Valley of Switzerland. Toggenburgs are a brown color with distinctive white stripes on their face and legs. They were the first purebred dairy goats brought to America, with the first ones arriving as early as 1893.Toggenburgs were the most famous Chikaming breed. Mrs. Sandburg admired Toggenburgs the most as they were the breed that achieved the highest production records in her herd. Chikaming Toggenburgs were outstanding in both production and in the show ring.

 

Nubian dairy goat at Connemara Farms

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Nubians: Of the three breeds in the Chikaming herd, Nubians were the Sandburg family’s favorite breed. The Nubian breed is distinguished by long, drooping ears; a convex nose; and a variety of color patterns. The Nubian is a relatively large, proud, and graceful dairy goat of mixed Asian, African, and European origin, known for high quality, high butterfat, milk production. Mrs. Sandburg once wrote “Somehow their faces seem more expressive than those of any other breed. I find the Nubian nose and ears very picturesque”. Mrs. Sandburg and her family truly enjoyed the taste of the Nubian milk, which is high in butterfat. The Sandburg’s bought their first Nubian doe in 1936, the second breed of goats added to their herd. This breed was added as an experiment and Mrs. Sandburg was very impressed by the breed. By 1941, just 5 years after purchasing her first Nubian, she decided to keep equal numbers of Nubians and Toggenburgs in her herd. This breed gives lower quantities of milk than the Swiss breeds, but she felt that the good flavor of Nubian milk could help overcome public prejudice against goat milk. She considered four quarts of Nubian milk, with its higher butterfat content, equal to five quarts of milk from the Swiss breeds. The Nubian breed was less than 50 years old when Mrs. Sandburg added them to her herd, so adding them to the herd was a risk. By the time the herd was dispersed, the Chikaming herd was considered one of the foundation herds for the Nubian breed in the United States.

 

Saanen adult and kid dairy goats at Connemara Farms

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Saanens: One of the first breeds imported to America, Saanens are a pure white breed of goat from the Saanen Valley of Switzerland. Mrs. Sandburg added this breed once they moved to Flat Rock, NC. This third and final breed of dairy goat was added to the Chikaming herd in 1946. Mrs. Sandburg was the only purebred Saanen herd within 300 miles. She wrote “I intended to keep just a few Saanens because they really show up in the pasture like no other goats, and I want to have the fun of having a few beautiful white angel kids every spring.” Although the Chikaming Saanens were always overshadowed by the fame of the Nubians and Toggenburgs, they were nevertheless an important part of the herd during the dairy years. Evidence shows that Saanens were part of the herd for some of its best years, and that Mrs. Sandburg had an active interest in this breed.