As Jillian Fellows of the Daily Tribune highlighted last week, yes, indeed, Cheboygan did have a cheese factory at one time. It was called “Just Cheese Co.” and operated by John Coverdale. In today’s column, I want to share more of this story.
I thought it would be good to start with a little history.
Milk-producing animals were domesticated about 10,000 years ago. Cheese came soon after. By 100 B.C., the Romans had developed hundreds of types of cheeses. In America, cheesemaking began in the 1600s when the Pilgrims brought their knowledge of cheesemaking with them from the Old World.
Cheesemaking can be difficult because there are so many kinds of cheese, and each requires its own processes and machinery.
Early cheesemaking in Colonial America spread west to the northern states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.
Michigan settlers cleared trees from their land. Some planted crops and others became dairy farmers.
Their first chore of the day was to get up before dawn to milk the cows. Some larger farms had 200 or more cows. Milking by hand was laborious and exhausting.
Farmers had their hands full trying to stay ahead of the daily grind. Most of their milk was distributed locally by special milk wagons or sold in small markets. Milk that went unsold was fed to livestock or spoiled.
Given the challenges, it was difficult for dairy farmers to make a profit.
In 1855, the state legislature chartered the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan (now Michigan State University) to develop agricultural science to help farmers become more productive and efficient.
Professors travelled across the state to talk to farmers about their farming methods so the college could research science-backed strategies to improve production, processes, and safety.
The scientific research soon began paying dividends. Modern science helped dairy farmers become more efficient and increased their ability to make a profit.
The first person to make cheese in Cheboygan was an early pioneer. The 1884 history of Cheboygan reports:
“The first wheat sown in the county was on Nov. 2, 1851. Horatio Nelson Ball sowed wheat sent by J.W. Duncan, then of Chicago, on 1.25 acres of land about 12 miles from Cheboygan. The stumps were on the land and a previous potato crop had been taken off it.
“The grain was reaped in the following season, measured 51 bushels and one peck and sold to J.W. Duncan. Mrs. Ball made the first cheese, in 1849 or
1850.”
At the time, cheese was often made at home. In the early 1900s, dairies started sending their extra milk production to large, centralized “cheese factories.”
According to the Cheboygan Democrat, there was an earlier attempt to open a cheese factory in Cheboygan in 1894, but it went nowhere.
In 1924, the Cheboygan Democrat and Daily Tribune reported Coverdale had sold his cheese factory in Levering and was seeking a new location for his next factory. He chose Cheboygan. One newspaper reported:
“Cheboygan is to have a cheese factory. Businessmen and dairies have been working with Coverdale, who is experienced in cheesemaking. Everything has been obtained except for acquiring and setting up the machinery for making cheese.”
“Soon farmers who have milk to sell will be called. Coverdale asks for no bonds or stock subscriptions from Cheboygan people. He wants to have close relationships with the milk producers of Cheboygan County.”
Coverdale said Cheboygan farmers were already selling milk to Levering, which bodes well for a Cheboygan factory. He said he needed 5,000 gallons of milk a week. Mr. Coverdale urged dairies to increase their herds and to deliver the milk to the Cheboygan factory.
On May 8, 1924, a newspaper reported: Cheboygan was a “splendid place for milk,’’ adding “The Cheboygan cheese factory has gotten underway and is already making cheese and is daily increasing its receipt of milk.”
There were problems obtaining sufficient milk. But Coverdale managed well. He won the first prize for cheese at the Western Michigan State Fair at Grand Rapids three times.
A new location was found on West State Street. The factory created a great demand for milk.
There were other challenges. On July 27, 1927, the Tribune reported:
“Friday afternoon Wm. Olson of Aloha was coming to town with a truckload of milk, about 500 pounds, in cans, when his motor stalled. John Coverdale, proprietor of the cheese factory was called for assistance. Returning to the city, the driver, in turning off Lafayette onto State Street, was striking a pretty good clip when the truck upset, and the milk dumped into the street!”
America was industrializing. Producing cheeses was becoming more complicated and high volume. It was now a large industry. Many local cheese factories closed, including ours.
An era had ended.