200 Years of Crowley Cheese
In the late 19th century, when the Vermont landscape was dotted with dairy farms, Crowley Cheese was one of many small cheese producers flourishing in the state. At that time, almost every Vermont village had at least one cheese manufacturer; some villages had as many as six cheesemakers. Because refrigeration was yet to be invented, farmers were unable to store surplus milk, and so they would wisely bring their excess milk to a local cheesemaker to make something out of it—cheese!
Crowley’s commercial cheesemaking history began in the Crowley Farm kitchen in Healdville, Vermont, in 1824, when they began making cheese with milk from neighbors, as well as their own. At this time the American cheese factory had not yet been invented. However it wasn’t until 1882, when A. Winfield Crowley built the present-day factory, that the name Crowley Cheese started to reach the shores of Maine and the streets of Manhattan. In those days, the cheeses were shipped by railroad, and cheese factories began to proliferate as the railroads were built out in the mid-19th century.
Refrigeration’s invention and popularization in the early 20th century had a cataclysmic effect on most small northeastern cheesemaking, because, for the first time, a mass market for fluid milk became viable. This use commanded a higher value to dairy farmers than cheesemaking, and most cheesemaking in the northeast was quickly abandoned in favor of the sale of fluid milk. Cheesemaking became concentrated in areas that had less proximity to population than did dairy farms in the northeastern corridor. Crowley, however, persevered and today is America’s oldest remaining cheese factory, and a National Historic Place.
By the early part of the twentieth century, the unique qualities that attracted Crowley’s first believers in Vermont were being tasted and cherished by people all over the East Coast. It was also a staple in many of Vermont’s general stores, with its big 35-pound wheels enjoying great prominence. Crowley cheesemaking was presided over by Winfield Crowley, from 1882–1935; Winfield’s son George took the helm until 1963. It was only with the untimely death of George’s son Robert in 1966 that the Crowley’s were first confronted with no head cheesemaker and no family succession plan. At this time, the Smith family next door acquired the business and so it left the Crowley family hands but continued to operate as a family business, as it still does today. Kenny Hart has been Crowley’s cheesemaker for the past 25 years, and today, nearly 200 years later, Crowley Cheese continues to make one of the finest cheeses in America. The recipe has not changed.
Crowley Timeline
1787
1787—Abraham Crowley starts Crowley farm in Healdville, Vermont.
1824
1824—Crowleys begin making cheese for neighbors as well as themselves at the farm.
1849—Boston-Burlington train line opens, with Summit station in Mount Holly creating access to larger markets for cheese.
1882
A.W. Crowley Cheese Factory – Secretary’s Records from 1882
See Full Document >
1882—A. Winfield Crowley opens the A. W. Crowley Cheese Factory, as a cooperative—joining a half dozen cheese factories that are already operating in the immediate vicinity.
Invoice from 1905 from A. W. Crowley of Healdville, VT to M W. J. Lamb
1913—Refrigerators for home use were invented.
1914—The first tank trucks for milk are put on the road.
1915—Kraft begins producing processed cheese.
1917—Mandatory pasteurization of milk begins to be legislated.
Winfield Crowley sitting in front of the Crowley Cheese Factory with his dog, ca. 1920s
1930—By this time most milk produced at all near population centers is consumed as fluid milk; cheesemaking has largely shifted west of New York state, and is located away from population centers.
1935—Winfield Crowley dies, and son George takes over as head cheesemaker.
1937
1937—The Crowleys buy out the cooperative and become sole owners of Crowley Cheese.
1940—Cheese production at Crowley is year-round, not just seasonal.
George Crowley Inspecting a Wheel of Crowley Cheese at the Crowley Cheese Factory, ca.1940s
1945—Vermont has 25,000 farms.
George Crowley on left at the Crowley Cheese Factory, ca. 1950s
1964—George Crowley dies, and son Robert takes over as head cheesemaker.
1966—Robert Crowley (age 53) dies in the factory of a heart attack and no Crowley is groomed to succeed him.
1967—Randolph Smith acquires Crowley Cheese.
1968—Crowley Cheese is featured on the front page of the Rutland Herald.
“In Sleepy Healdville, Cheese Is Still Made Alfred Crowley’s Way,” Rutland Herald, July 6, 1968
1970—Vermont Life article is published.
Vermont Life 1970 Summer Issue, Volume XXIV, Number 4 | Read here >
1978—The Crowley factory expands with the addition of a new drying and cutting area.
1979—Vermont has 3,000 farms.
2005—Crowley wins first place in class at the American Cheese Society competition.
2009–Galen and Jill Jones acquire Crowley Cheese.
2017—Vermont has 750 farms.
2024
2024—Crowley celebrates its 200th year
More About the History of Crowley Cheese
Local History: Crowley Cheese Factory, The Vermont Journal, August 1, 2021
By Ron Patch
“As I get older, I often find myself reminiscing about the old days. One of my early memories is the Crowley Cheese Factory in Healdville. My father first took me there over 60 years ago…”
A. Winfield Crowley raking cheese curds at the Crowley Cheese Factory
