The Cheese Factory System with Patrick Reynolds - Third Thursday Winter Lectures Ep. 1

Patrick Reynolds from the Oneida County Historical Center discusses

Jesse Williams and the Cheese Factory System. 

Just North of Rome, NY, the modern cheese industry was born in 1851.  Jesse Williams was a successful farmer and cheese maker but believed by working together as cooperative dairies, farmers could maximize their profits.  This led him to start the first cheese factory in the United States, a move that revolutionized agriculture not only locally, but across the nation.

On the 100th anniversary of Jesse’s cheese factory, John H. Kraft, president of Kraft Foods, proclaimed that “pioneers like Jesse Williams… [fathered] the ideas and tools that have made America great.” This man, Kraft said, “exemplified the spirit which has made the dairy industry the largest agricultural industry in America.”

Jesse Williams died in 1864 at age 67. At that time Oneida County was making over eight million pounds of cheese per year.  Williams never patented his cheese-making inventions but gave them to the agricultural world.

 

Patrick Reynolds is the Director of Public Programs at the Oneida County History Center.  He is a graduate of the Cooperstown Program in Museum Studies and has worked in museums throughout the United States including Hanford Mills Museum, Berks County Historical Society, Rome Historical Society, and The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

Oneida County History Center Website:

https://www.oneidacountyhistory.org/

Oneida County History Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneidaCountyHistory/

Schoharie Crossing hosted our first Third Thursday Winter Lecture of 2022 on January 20th at 7pm via the online platform WebEx. 

This program was offered for free by Schoharie Crossing.  If you’d like to provide a monetary donation or become a member of the 501c3 Friends of Schoharie Crossing, you can do so by visiting: https://the-friends-of-schoharie-crossing.square.site/

Schoharie Crossing website:

https://www.parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/schohariecrossing

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