In 1866 Manoah Miller bought 160 acres of land in Winneshiek County, Iowa. Fast forward to 2020 and we find the 6th and 7th generations of Millers running that same land.
On that farm, Roy M. Miller was sitting one evening in his lawn and noticed he could see the smoke from the train sixteen miles west and commented what a beautiful view from the lawn. This is how Viewlawn was named. Roy was a Grandson of Manoah.
Roy purchased his first purebred Angus bull in 1892. In 1903 he purchased his first six registered Angus Cows from J.E. Briggs; Canton Flossy registration number 42571, Alvena of Nine Oaks, 25124; Bonita of Nine Oaks, 36562; Helen of Nine Oaks, 36564; Canton Winsome, 42572 and Pansy of Clay Hill, 61032. In 1904 he purchased these cows from James Donald; Virlie of Canton, 44762; Ivy of Canton, 21522. For a few years Roy used herd bulls with John Milne. In the fall of 1909 he purchased a young show bull Thickset Idol, by Glenfoil Thickset 2d from Rosemere Farms owned by Otto V. Battles, Maquoketa, Iowa. This bull made a very good impression on the Viewlawn Herd. His dam Home View Lady Idessa 2D later produced the international Champion, Idolmere that was sold to Dr. J. I Huggins of Dandridge Tennessee.
Roy’s first membership with the American Aberdeen Angus Breeders Association was issued in 1903 and the membership number was 1170.
In 1914 he bought Erin Lad W. by the black Woodlawn bull, Belfast, out of Examma, by Earl Eric of Ballindoch, from the Donohoes sale. This bull proved to be an outstanding sire.
The first sale that Roy consigned to was with M.C. Willford of Canton, MN on November 9th, of 1916. This was the first Angus sale in the state of Minnesota. Roy had 1 bull and 4 cows in the sale. The sale average was $180.00.
During the post-war Depression Roy fed, for three different seasons, a car of purebred steers, have the top load one year and coming within 25 cents of the top on the other two loads. The top carload brought 10.80 per hundred weight with each running about 1000 pounds.
For the first 35 years of the operation Viewlawn was run exclusively by Roy. Since that time several generations have come to be involved in the Viewlawn Operation. Roy had three sons, Charles, Frank and Everett. Charles was a mail carrier and also was involved in the farm. Frank and Everett were both attorneys.
In 1944 Charles took 5 cows to the National Western Show and Sale in Denver, Colorado. His son Robert joined the farming operation in 1945. In 1950 Roy, Charles, Frank and Robert decided to have their 1st annual bull sale in Gordon, Nebraska. Western Ranchers were looking for good rugged bulls and this was a means of marketing the Viewlawn Bulls. At that first sale 15 bulls were sold. These sales in Gordon continued until 1961 when they held their 12th annual sale. In 1952 they started offering foundation cows and heifers for private treaty sales on the farm. Private treaty sales are the major way of marketing cattle on the farm today.
In 1955 the N.E. Iowa Show and Sale was started. Viewlawn took 2 bulls and 4 females to this sale. The Show Window sale in Chicago, Ill. was another sale that Viewlawn consigned 2 heifers.
In 1956 Viewlawn held the first sale on the farm. It was classified as a production and club calf sale. Roy was 81 years old at this time and was still actively involved in the farming operation with Robert. It was another ten years before another production sale. The last of these sales was held in 1968. Since that time private treaty sales have been used exclusively.
In 1960 Viewlawn started a broad fertility testing program. Bulls were semen checked by the Decorah Vets. In 1965 Viewlawn became an International source for breeding stock. 36 head of cattle were shipped to Ryuka Islands in Okinawa, Japan. In 1969 another 25 head of bred heifers were sent.
Four generations of Millers showed and sold cattle at the N.E. Iowa Angus Show. Those included Charles, Robert, Larry and Mathew Miller. The Minnesota and Iowa State Fairs were another opportunity for Viewlawn to show cattle.
The herd reached a high of 350 brood cows in the late 60’s and today consists of approximately 240 cows.
Larry joined the farming operation in 1972 following his graduation from Iowa State. Larry and his wife Margaret raised three sons on the farm – Mathew, Christopher, and Andrew. Chris joined the farming operation in 2002 following his graduation from Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, IA. Chris and his wife Melissa are raising their three sons – Colton, Cooper, and Cody on the farm. They are 7th generation Angus breeders and are excited to carry on the family name and business.
