Dairies in Stamford and Vicinity
Dairies in Stamford and Vicinity
By Karen Cuccinello
I got started on this article looking into the Mountain Dairy and then I also tried to find out about, and/or at the very least mention, other dairies in the area. I actually found out more about the Gilbert Dairy since I found two good articles about it.
The Gilbert Farm, between Stamford and Hobart, started out with Judge Francis Russell Gilbert (1830-1897) who shipped the first can of milk out of Stamford to NYC in 1880. His son Jesse Benjamin Gilbert (1870-1950) had a milk route, originally delivered by the pail “dipped milk”, then in 1894 he sold the first bottled milk in Stamford Village. His son Francis B. (1900-1982) took over the farm in 1926 and created a milk bottling plant in the main barn. Francis sold over 800 quarts of milk during the summer, boarding house season, and 300-400 during the winter. Francis retired in 1959.
Other Stamford dairymen that produced and bottled their own milk during a similar time as Francis Gilbert were: Raynor Brothers (I think one of the brothers was Edward), Grant Danton and Red Warren (I believe “Red” was William Mayham Warren 1898-1972) who went out of business at about the time the Gilbert business began to grow.
July 4, 1929 Stamford Mirror-Recorder- Francis Gilbert has purchased the milk route conducted by Mayham Warren, together with the bottles and cases belonging to Mr. Warren and has added Mr. Warren’s customers to his own large clientele. He began delivery to his new customers on June 30th.
Mr. Gilbert has conducted his route for three years, and previously it was under the management of his father. J. B. Gilbert, for thirty-four years. It is understood that he is installing a large electric cooler at his dairy. He produces most of his own milk from a fully accredited herd, mostly registered Ayrshire’s.
Ernest “Bud” Bloodgood (1899-1980) of Stamford, proprietor of Mountain Dairy, purchased the Francis Gilbert dairy business in 1938. Bloodgood then purchased the Crystal Springs Dairy with a bottling and pasteurizing plant on Spring Street in Cobleskill 1942. He operated his dairy until selling it to Frank and his son, Roger Becker in 1948.
August 20, 1942 Cobleskill Index- MOUNTAIN DAIRY MILK and CREAM Good as the Best, Better Than the Rest – GUARANTEED TRY IT – For Service call 10 A.M. to Noon – Call 368 Any Day.
Bits & Pieces:
1915 – Lucius Hinman and wife conveyed one-half acre of land and spring rights to the Cohen Dairy Co.
1916 – Joseph Bailey, of Schenevus, accepted a position with the Cohen Dairy at Stamford.
1922- C. W. Lewis is manager of the Cohen Dairy Co’s plant between Stamford and Hobart. (I believe the main office for Cohen was in NYC.)
1929- Raynor Bros are constructing a modern bottling room for use in their increasing retail milk business.
1929 – W. Mayham auctioned off his herd of cattle, 25 head, and sold his milk route.
1934 – Raynor Bros. and Gilbert Farm milk prices going up one cent to 11 cents for a quart.
1935- South Side Dairy, located on the Stamford highway, three miles from Oneonta. Prices – milk quart .11, pint .07; heavy cream quart .74, pint .41 and half pint .21; coffee cream and special sour cream quart .47, pint .27 and half pint .14; prices to boarding houses were a few cents less.
1950’s-60’s- Catskill Mountain Dairy of Delhi.
1951- Fred DeSilvia of Hobart, was a milkman for Cowan’s Dairy.
1951- Lucius H. Hinman (1863-1951) had a dairy before and during WWI and sold out about 1922 when he moved to Oneonta. His farm is now (in 1951) known as the Darling Farm on the Hobart road. The Hinman dairy was located just below the Gilbert Dairy near Hobart.
1954- The former Sheffield Creamery building, now owned by Prospect Dairy of Stamford is making a name for itself as a milk processing concern in Delaware County.
1954- Thieves entered the Cowan Dairy plant in Hobart and stole a cash box containing $102. Robert Cowan, owner-manager, discovered the theft of the money.
1960 – Prospect Dairy announces that Russell Archibald is sole distributor of Hi-Health dairy products in South Kortright, Hobart, Stamford, Jefferson, Grand Gorge, Prattsville, Lexington,Ashland and Windham areas.
More area bottlers: H.C. Soule of Prattsville, worked for the Gilbert Dairy after he left his own business; George Taylor operated the Taylor Dairy on Taylor Road in Stamford; Star D. Mase operated the Cold Spring Dairy 1920-1935- Kendall Place boarding house bottled their own milk probably 1920’s.
Prospect Dairy photo from the Stamford Village Library history room.