Western Maryland Dairy (Centre County)

The former Western Maryland Dairy
Author's Photo

    Milk has always been an agricultural staple of Central Pennsylvania. Bellefonte's centralized location among the rich farm lands of Nittany Valley along with its extensive railroad connections made it a prime location for processing this milk. The story of the dairy industry in Bellefonte is reminiscent of the dairies that once were common in many small towns across the region, but have since disappeared in favor of large conglomerates in major cities. So grab a glass of cold milk and relax as we dive into the history of Bellefonte’s Western Maryland Dairy.


    Founded in 1887 in Baltimore, MD, Western Maryland Dairy Inc. had grown to become a major player in the dairy industry of the Mid-Atlantic states. Advertising on their milk bottles declared them as “Maryland’s oldest and largest dairy.” By the 1920’s, the company employed 600 people and served 65,000 customers across Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. In 1923 alone, the company sold nearly 12,000,000 gallons of milk, 700,000 pounds of butter, and 364,000 pounds of cottage cheese. Part of the supply system were four shipping and receiving stations, one of which was located in Bellefonte.

 

A 1920 ad from the company in Bellefonte's Democratic Watchman
                  Retrieved from https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/

    Land to build the Bellefonte receiving station was sold in 1920 by Martha Thomas to a proprietor of  Western Maryland Dairy Inc. for $2,150. The milk station opened for business on November 22nd of that same year. Inside the plant were washing and pasteurization equipment, canning appliances, and a 20-ton refrigeration machine. At the rear of the building, a railroad siding and loading dock enabled the Pennsylvania Railroad to service the facility. 

 

A Sanborn fire insurance map from 1922 showing the layout of the dairy
Map Retrieved From: https://libraries.psu.edu

          Milk was brought to the plant by railroad or via personal milk routes. Individuals could start their own milk routes to pick-up local milk from farmers and deliver it to the Bellefonte milk station. The Beatty Motor Company of Bellefonte took advantage of the situation by advertising their 1-ton Ford truck that could carry 28 cans of milk in the bed. Reportedly, the truck was endorsed by the manager of the Bellefonte dairy. One of those milk routes was started by Harold Fisher in March 1921. Harold's route began "two miles west of Julian" and continued to Bellefonte. 

    On September 1, 1924, the company sold the Bellefonte location to Sheffield Farms, one of the largest dairy companies in the eastern United States at the time. Sheffield Farms also operated other dairies in the communities of Howard, Mill Hall, Coburn, Spring Mills, and Centre Hall. The Lewisburg & Tyrone Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad passed through the last three of those communities. Everyday, the dairies would load one or two specially insulated cars with processed milk to be picked up by the daily passenger train.

An example of a Sheffield Farms milk car
Image Retrieved from:https://www.walthers.com/

    The idea of insulating railroad cars to keep products cold had been around since the early 1850's. However, railroads were apprehensive in  adopting this new type of freight car. Private food and dairy companies (like Sheffield and Borden) then took it upon themselves to procure their own cars. By the 1880's, insulated milk cars were well established on America's rail network. 

A 1939 photo of a Lewisburg & Tyrone passenger train with three Sheffield Farms milk cars behind the engine.
Photo Retrieved From: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Archives

    Sheffield continued to operate the Bellefonte facility until 1956 when the company was dissolved and all interests were transferred to the National Dairy Products Corporation, holder for other dairy based producers such as Bryer’s Ice Cream and Kraft-Phenix Cheese. The corporation changed its name to Kraftco in 1969. Kraftco sold the Bellefonte facility in 1973 to the Eastern Milk Producers Cooperative Association Inc. After six years of operation, the building was sold to a private individual in 1979, bringing to a close the building's use as a dairy.

 

    Though progress has largely erased many of the small town dairies, it has not diminished this region’s contribution to the dairy industry. Generations of farmers are to thank for producing this food resource that many of us take for granted. They carry on the tradition that continues to be an integral part of this region’s heritage.

Another view of the front of the dairy
Author's Photo

A close up of Western Maryland logo. "SHE" for Sheffield can be seen to the left
Author's Photo

Information Retrieved From: 

Bezilla, M. (2006). The pennsylvania railroad’s lewisburg & tyrone railroad: when two halves didn’t make a whole. The Keystone. 39.(1). https://centrecountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/487/ltrrhistory?bidId=

Democratic Watchman. (1920, November 12). Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1920-11-12/ed-1/seq-5/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=Western+Maryland+Dairy&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=1&words=Dairy+DAIRY+MARYLAND+Maryland+WESTERN+Western&page=1

Democratic Watchman. (1921 March 25). New milk route to open. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1921-03-25/ed-1/seq-8/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=western+maryland+dairy&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=19&words=Dairy+Maryland+Western&page=1

Kindraka, J. (1990, January/February). Milk run!. Dispatch. https://riverraisinmodels.com/libraryData/milktrains.pdf

Manufactures Record. (1924, December). A scientific dairy sets pace for country. The South’s Development. https://books.google.com/books?id=mLYgAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA461&dq=western+maryland+dairy+%2B+new+york&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSn_mLnqzoAhUabc0KHfJ0A94Q6AEwAHoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=western%20maryland%20dairy%20%2B%20new%20york&f=false

Moody Manuel Company. (1924). Western Maryland dairy inc. Moody’s manual of railroads and corporation securities. https://books.google.com/books?id=fkMTAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1866&dq=western+maryland+dairy+%2B+bellefonte&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi50J2ymazoAhUKXM0KHd6oAUEQ6AEwCHoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=western%20maryland%20dairy%20%2B%20bellefonte&f=false

Western Maryland dairy company. (2006). Pennsylvania Historic Resource Series. https://bellefonte.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/dairy.pdf