First of two parts

By Ed Shannon, Tribune feature writer

Recent increases in prices consumers pay for milk and processed products like cheese could revive several pertinent questions regarding the county’s once very active dairy industry.

One question

is based on the number of dairy farmers now active in the county. The answer is about 20. A century ago the answer was actually several hundred, plus.

Another question could be based on the number of active creameries in the county today. The answer is zero.

Yet, there are many sturdy brick buildings in the county’s communities and several rural locations which are still identified as &uot;the old creameries.&uot; And this creates an obvious question. Just how many creameries were there in Freeborn County? One proven answer is 28!

During the earliest days of agriculture in Freeborn County, the major crop was wheat, not corn or soybeans. In fact, the famous Cargill grain firm got its real start in Albert Lea during the first part of the 1870s. However, a decline in wheat prices starting in 1878 resulted in many farmers diversifying to dairying with small herds of cows. Most of the milk was consumed by farm families. Butter was created by a tedious process based on hand-operated churns.

The first attempt to collect and process milk purchased from farmers and city residents who owned cows (which was a common practice in that era) came in May 1881 with the incorporation of the Fountain Lake Creamery in Albert Lea. This firm relied on the cream from 200 cows. The creamery operated for a few years, then ceased operations.

Two factors really caused a boost for the creamery business in Freeborn County. One was the concept of the farmer-owned cooperative creamery. This innovation started in Europe, especially Denmark, and got its first start in the state with the creamery at Clarks Grove in 1890. The other innovation was the invention of a practical separator to process the milk for its cream content.

Within a decade there were 28 creameries, mostly cooperatives, and two cheese factories in Freeborn County. The cheese factories were in Myrtle and near Oakland and the Mower County line which operated with the name of Turtle Creek.

The real importance of creameries for the area’s agricultural economy was emphasized in the Feb. 9, 1900, issue of the Freeborn County Times. This weekly newspaper issued a special 16-page Creamery Edition which had a county map showing the location of all 28 creameries and the two cheese factories. Descriptive articles and photos were based on each of the creameries.

In the 1911 book, &uot;History of Freeborn County Minnesota,&uot; the author, Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, had a full chapter based on the dairying industry. He quotes a 1910 report by the state’s dairy and food commissioner which said Freeborn County had 28 creameries with 2,728 patrons and 27,253 cows. (The number of cows exceeded the county’s population a century ago.) During 1910 the creameries received 46,831,330 pounds of milk and produced 5,085,372 pounds of butter. The amount paid to patrons (or cooperative members) that year was $1,339,682.46.

An article in the Nov. 27, 1977, issue of the Shell Rock Press, the weekly newspaper in Glenville, had a rather interesting headline. It said, &uot;Freeborn Was Once ‘Banner Dairy County of the Northwest.’&uot; This article also listed all the county’s active creameries in 1911 with:

&uot;In the following list of those twenty-eight active creameries, the association name appears first, followed by the shipping point. Albert Lea Dairy Association, Albert Lea; Alden Creamery Company, Alden; Armstrong Creamery Company, Armstrong; Bancroft Creamery Association, Albert Lea; Banner Co-operative Creamery Association, Oakland; Clarks Grove Creamery Association, Clarks Grove; Clover Valley Creamery Association, Twin Lakes; Conger Creamery Co., Conger; Enterprise Co-operative Creamery Association, London; Freeborn County Creamery Co., Albert Lea; Freeborn Creamery Co., Freeborn; Freeman Dairy Association, Glenville; Geneva Village Creamery Association, Clarks Grove; Glenville Creamery Association, Glenville; Gordonsville Creamery Association, Gordonsville; Hayward Creamery Association, Hayward; Hartland Creamery Association, Hartland; Manchester Creamery Association,, Manchester; Mansfield Central Creamery Co., Alden; Moscow Co-operative Creamery Association, Oakland; Myrtle Creamery Co., Myrtle; Newry Co-operative Creamery Association, Blooming Prairie; Oakland Creamery Co., Oakland; Poplar Grove Creamery, Hartland; Riceland Creamery Association, Clarks Grove; State Line Farmers’ Creamery Association, Lyle; Sumner Valley Creamery Association, Hayward; and Union Creamery Company, Emmons.

Next: How the creamery and dairy business expanded, then declined in Freeborn County.

(Contact Ed Shannon at ed.shannon@albertleatribune.com or call 379-3434.)