Historically speaking
Dairy Days Looking around Sparta Township today, one would find it hard to believe that only 40 years ago dairy farming was a major economic feature of our area. In fact, right through the 1960s, Sussex County boasted that there were “more cows than people” here. Times have changed! The milk industry started in this region around the 1850s. As the farmers followed the pioneers after the Revolutionary War, these farmers had much work to do. They had to clear the land of trees, rocks, and brush. Their lives were very hard. They also had to build homes and barns and fences to hold their livestock in. In the 1850s or so, the farmers were able to expand their flocks to include sheep for wool (another story) and cattle for food and milk. The advent of the railroad in Sussex County in the 1860s and 1870s opened up a vast market for selling dairy products in the New York City area because farmers could ship their perishable products in a timely fashion by rail. Sparta was one of the many towns in Sussex County that took advantage of this market by producing dairy products. Dairy was the quintessential “cottage industry” for the area. Milk was put out to “set” to allow the cream to come to the top. This was accomplished in a cool place, usually at the spring house on the local farm. Milk was homogenized and pasteurized at a creamery. This heating helped to purify the product. Farmers would take the raw milk to the creamery in large metal milk cans in their horse-drawn wagons. There were several creameries in Sparta: one at the NYS&W railroad station (at Station Park) and two in Monroe, one on the DL&W Railroad Sussex Branch and one at Kimble’s Crossing on the L&H Railroad nearby. Creameries were also at the Ackerson Crossing on Route 15 and Woodruff’s Gap. In addition to milk, butter was made from the milk and cream. It is said that nearby Orange County was the first area anywhere to produce butter commercially in the early 1860s. Cheese was also produced in the area, both on the farm and commercially at the creameries. There was even a need for suppliers of tinder wood, which was used to pack the cheese for shipment. The winter ice harvesting on local ponds, such as Lake Grinnell and White Lake, provided the cold storage needed for the successful transport of the dairy products to market in New York City before refrigeration came about in the 1890s. Some older residents still remember milk being brought to each household by the milk truck. This was preceded by the milk wagon, until about 1910. There were many local bottled-milk providers. The author has bottles from Franklin Lakes Dairy (in Hardyston), Reeve Harden Company (in Hamburg), and Joseph Bicsak (in Franklin). This milk was delivered every morning, placed in a metal box on one’s front porch. The cleaned empty bottles were left on the porch to be returned. A photo of one of these bottles is shown here with the distinctive shape of the milk bottle. Note the paper top that was used to seal the bottle. These old dairy days are now pretty much gone, with most of the farms in Sparta Township sold off for development, and barns fading into eternity as they fall into disrepair along the roadways. Bill Truran is a member of the Sparta Historical Society and author, most recently of “Sparta, NJ: Head of the Wallkill” which is available at the Sparta Book Store.