Lakeside Dairy has been in the Messick family since 1922. C.E. Messick started with a herd of 15-20 predominantly Holstein cows and 90 acres of land. Fifty acres were used to grow the corn, wheat, hay and barley that fed the herd. Plows, rakes and cultivators were drawn by horses. The milk was cooled with hand-pumped spring water and hauled by horse drawn wagon to the train station in Midland where it was shipped to Chestnut Farms Dairy in Alexandria, Virginia. The cows were milked by hand twice daily. Family members did all of the work on the farm.

The first tractor, a 40 horsepower McCormick-Dearing 1020, was purchased in the late 1920's. As the herd grew, additional barns and dairies were built. Electricity reached Midland in 1938 allowing electric lighting and water pumps. In 1944 mechanical milkers were added to the first modern dairy barn. In 1954, the first refrigerated milk tank was added.

Today the Lakeside Dairy farms more than 1000 acres and has an equipment investment exceeding $1 million. Our herd has grown to around 350 and is milked in a double-9 herringbone milking parlor with automatically detaching milking machines. Presently, an average of seven tons of milk are pumped and hauled in bulk to local dairies each day. A staff of eight, headed by O.B. Messick, son of C.E. Messick, and his sons, Ronnie and Jimmy Messick oversee the daily operation. As members of the Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers Association for more than 80 years, the Messick family hopes to continue to pass down the farming tradition by diversifying the business.