Gari and Corinne Melchers' modest farm centered on a dairy operation, with a cow barn built in 1921 for their small herd of Guernsey cows. Its second-story doors opened to the hayloft, a sweep-out hatch stood on the opposite wall, and whitewash on the interior helped keep disease in check. The Louden Machinery Company cow pen survived, and the milking stanchions and the adjoining run-in shed were rebuilt in their original locations beside the fenced barnyard. Belmont's livestock grazed several acres of pasture and followed a woodland path to the riverbank and back. Among the animals acquired or calved there in the 1920s were Lady Corinne, Dairy, and Cherry Blossom. Dairy cows in that era were typically milked twice a day, producing about four to six gallons of raw milk. The cows supplied clotted cream and ice cream enjoyed by Gari and Corinne Melchers and their guests, provided fresh milk for sale at market, and furnished some milk to needy families through the Stafford County Health Association.