Borden Company took over the property which Empire State Dairy owned in East New York. Though this photo might lead one to believe there were whole cows living in East New York, that wasn't the case. This pretty Holstein was probably just brought in to pose for a photo.

Legend has it, Borden entered the dairy business after witnessing dozens of children become ill from drinking contaminated milk. As an avid inventor who recently patented the "meat biscuit," (yes, that also took off...not!) Borden looked for a way to preserve milk. His invention? Condensed milk. He called it "Eagle Brand."

Borden's condensed milk enterprise, first named the "New York Condensed Milk Company," expanded to sell fluid milk, cream, butter, and ice cream. Dairy was brought in by "milk train" from New Jersey and upstate New York farms. Gail Borden invented the refrigerated milk train car which was constructed like an insulated bottle to safely transport the precious cargo.

Fresh milk that came into the city stopped at Manhattanville, the Bronx, Long Island, and New Jersey. From there it was transferred to ferries and barges which relayed them to one of the plants in the city. Of the 29 plants that existed in 1933, only two survive in Brooklyn today - one in East New York and another in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Borden's company was the first to produce milk bottles on an industrial scale. Now artifacts of a bygone era, these bottles would be delivered daily because homes didn't commonly have refrigerators.

Borden's elected Elsie, a cartoon Jersey cow, as their mascot in 1938. Elsie was meant to appeal to New Yorkers who were growing weary of the dairy industry holding an effective monopoly over the supply chain. Elsie's success landed her a country-wide tour and a short-lived Hollywood career. Her "husband," Elmer, is the mascot of Elmer's glue.

The Borden Company expanded to include a food department called Borden Food and a chemical company called Borden Chemicals. Borden's witnessed a changing milk business, encouraging the company to branch out into other industries. After suffering financial strain in the 1990s, the company was acquired by Grupo LaLa of Durango, Mexico. Elsie can still be found making an appearance on Eagle Brand condensed milk.