Brownville Cheese Factory
Brownville Cheese Factory
In 1908 a Brownville company was created and started The Patrons Cheese Factory. Originally a building next door to the subsequent cheese factory location was used, until the frame part was built in that year. In 1943 the name had changed from The Patrons Cheese Factory to the Brownville Co-Op Cheese Factory and incorporated.
The vats (of there were three), a "make" room, and storage was in the back section. The second floor had an apartment for the cheese maker and a section for box storage. Later a cement block addition was added, to be used as a "take-in" room and for the boiler.
The cheese factory created the cheese basically the same way over its entire operation, turning out washed curd and New York State brand cheese; a cheddar variant sometimes referred to as "Yankee Cheese". Earlier in it's operation the patrons of the factory had to take away their own whey but later the whey was made into whey butter, then later it was shipped to Buffalo.
After sixty-one years of operation the Brownville Cheese Factory closed due to the high cost of labor and supplies as well as upcoming state laws which would have made it too expensive to run. In 1899 there were 145 cheese factories in Jefferson County but by the time this cheese factory closed it was the last.
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