The Honey War Bee Company draws its name from the bloodless 1839 standoff between the militias of the State of Missouri and the then Territory of Iowa. An ambiguous boundary description in the Missouri Constitution led to a border dispute during which a Missouri tax collector, rebuffed by a group of pitchfork-wielding settlers who considered themselves Iowans, cut three bee trees in what is now Va
n Buren County Iowa and carried the honeycomb back to Missouri in lieu of taxes. The Missouri and Iowa militias, called out by their respective governors, faced each other but never fired a shot. The dispute was eventually decided in Iowa’s favor by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some historians will tell you that this border dispute between a slave state and a free territory foreshadowed the Civil War, but we think it was all about the honey. Headquartered in scenic Farmington, Iowa, which Iowa Territorial Governor Robert Lucas in 1839 described as “the seat of the excitement,” the Honey War Bee Company’s bees forage the same hardwood-forested hills and wildflower covered creek bottoms as the feral bees that gave the Honey War its name. To enjoy honey the way they did in 1839, try our all natural comb honey sections which are untouched by human hands. If you prefer liquid honey, try our raw and unfiltered wildflower honey. In order to preserve the natural floral flavors, delicate aromas, and healthful enzymes, we do not heat our honey above room temperature while extracting, and will apply gentle heat only if necessary to reliquify honey which has naturally crystallized in its container. Rather than filtering our extracted honey, we let it settle in airtight pails which allows wax and other particles to rise to the surface to be skimmed off before bottling. We do not treat our hives with antibiotics or miticides. At the Honey War Bee Company we strive to produce honey so pure and natural that you can let your taste buds party like it's 1839.
