Benton Co. History: The Ghost Town of Brennyville
BRENNYVILLE -- Brennyville is an unincorporated town in northern Benton County that was once the home to a large cheese factory.
Benton County Historical Society Executive Director Mary Ostby says the town gets its name from Father Peter Brenny who first established a new parish there, then a general store, and finally a cheese factory.
Brenny was the priest in nearby Morrill.
The church was approved in 1925 and by 1928 the cheese factory was under construction.
Father Brenny went to Wisconsin and hired a man by the name of Jack Adams to run the cheese factory, then he bought a truck to haul the cheese to Wisconsin to sell it.
People were buying it locally, but they were also shipping it to Wisconsin, which is known as a major cheese place. So the quality of it was excellent.
The cheese factory included apartments for the workers.
The general store was two stories high with the upper part of the community center for festivals, dinners, wedding receptions, dances and roller skating.
The back part of the store was the living quarters for Father Brenny.
Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the cheese factory just 19 years after it opened in March of 1947.
You can still find the catholic church though in Brennyville.
Once a month Ostby is on the News @ Noon show on WJON talking about the forgotten history of Benton County.
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