Alta Crest Farm

Alta Crest was a dairy farm located in Spencer Massachusetts. Alta Crest was formerly several smaller farms however they were all purchased by Arthur Sagendorph. Sagendorph was at Cornell studying agriculture, however, during his second year, he dropped out and began purchasing these small farms in the area in hopes of running a successful farm. He purchased the first 160-acre farm for just $2,200 but soon grew the farm to be 1500 acres of land. Alta Crest and Sagendorph were particularly well known for their Ayrshire cows that won many awards. One of the most famous of these Ayrshire cows was Buttercup who lived on the grounds of Alta Crest and won many awards at various cattle shows. Sagendorph ran a successful farm, providing milk to businesses across Worcester county. The dairy farm ran until the 1950s when it was purchased to become a Trappist monastery. Today, the land that was previously Alta Crest farm is known as St Joseph’s Abbey. This large piece of land located in Spencer, MA was sold to these monks in 1949 and has been home to them ever since. The abbey is particularly well known for the jelly they produce on-site “Trappist Preserves” that you can purchase today.

Cooper’s Hilltop Dairy

Cooper’s Hilltop Dairy is located in Rochdale Massachusetts. In the early 1900s, James Arnold Cooper bought the original farm. He began developing the farm, adding chicken and cows. His son, Harold, began further expanding the farm, particularly exposing their milk delivery routes to deliver all over town. In the 1930s a processing room was built in order to pasteurize the milk. Harold’s wife, Hazel oversaw much of the business during world war 2. The farm transitioned out of doing milk routes with the popularity of grocery stores. The farm is still within the family and is still operating today.

Gibson Dairy

Gibson Dairy began around 1900. It began in Worcester near the Paxton line as a dairy farm and the farmland was soon taken over by the Gibson family in 1923 and soon after the dairy was moved to Millbury on Park Hill. But, in the early 1930s the barn burned down as well as the processing plant. They then moved to create a new plant on East Central St in Worcester and at this point they no longer produced milk alone and in 1950 they moved to Sunderland Road. Today they distribute all major brands such as Hood, Garelick, Oakhurst and others.

Jordan Dairy (Cleighton)

Formerly Cleighton Farm, Jordan Dairy is a multigenerational farm in Rutland, Massachusetts. The family that has owned this farm for 5 generations, the Jordan Family has produced dairy products from their herd to consumers. In 1899, Charlie Jordan took over this farm space and had their six children. Of these children Sumner and Howard worked on the farm and later, in 1943, the two purchased a farm on Muschopauge Road in Rutland, MA where they had their very own herd of Guernsey cows. The two brothers then split themselves between the farm in Rutland and the farm in Holden, and in Holden, they began bottling milk and had a processing plant in Rutland. In 1963, Sumner passed away followed by Howard in 1970, and the farms were turned over to Howard’s sons Warren and Wayne. Years later, Wayne’s sons Brian and Randy took control of the farm under which production soared leading Jordan dairy to become a state of the art facility and it is the first farm to feature an Anaerobic Digester which uses Sorted Solid Organics to create power. 

Lilac Hedge Farm

Lilac Hedge Dairy was founded by William Mackay in 1898 at the corner of Salisbury and Flagg Streets in Worcester, MA. No cows were kept after 1927 when the farm moved to 876 Salisbury Street in Holden, MA. While the dairy remained in the Mackay family’s hands, the operation was centered around delivery and processing of dairy. Owners from this family have moved from R.H. MacKay and Donald MacKay. Operations and processing were later merged with Sunrise Dairy in Paxton, MA in 1965. 

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Obadiah B. Hadwen

Obadiah Hadwen is perhaps best known for his position as president of the Worcester County Horticulture Society in the mid-1800s. Hadwen also served as the commissioner of public parks within Worcester. Hadwen himself owned a lot of land within Worcester. On this land, Obadiah owned many cows and was a large dairy producer within the county. His land was donated to the city when he passed and now is the Hadwen park today. 

Pearson’s Elmhurst 

Elmhurst Dairy Farms was chartered in 1719 by Solomon Holman and was a dairy of 3,000 acres. This was established on a land grant from the King of England and the land was passed to his son Col. Jonathan Holman after the Revolutionary War. The Holomans were a prominent U.S. colonizer from an established family. Much later, in 1934, Oscar and Ester Pearson created the retail store that stands today as well as the dairy processing plant. This dairy remains today and is a prominent producer of milk and eggnog, as well as ice cream that contains 16.5% butterfat giving this dairy a unique reputation. Their cows are a mix of holsteins and milking shorthorns.

Sibley Farms 

In 1887, Rufus Sibley, a well-known businessman, began Sibley Farms on Moose Hill in Spencer. Sibley was a well-known businessman for his success in starting a well-known department store in New York. The farm consisted of mainly Jersey cows and at its height had over 150 cows, many of which won awards. The farm added a milk processing salon in 1931. This salon was one of the most modern ones around and people would come from all around to watch the milk be processed and bottled. Sibley had a mansion on the estate but it was unfortunately destroyed in the hurricane of 1938. The milk service was bought by Hood in 1955 and the farm was sold in 1963. Today the land was almost turned into a strip mall however many local groups came together to protect the land and today one can still enjoy the land. It is maintained by the Greater Worcester land trust as well as the Spencer town government. One can enjoy its beautiful walking and hiking trails today!

Stowe Farm 

Today, Stowe Farm is mainly an equestrian farm that also features apple orchards and pumpkin patches. However, it began as mainly a dairy farm. It was first purchased by Ithamer Stowe in the mid-1800s. Ithamer passed it down to his son George Ithamer Stowe who made the farm a household name within Millbury. At this point, it was still a dairy farm, and at its peak, it was milking 63 cattle a day. George passed it down to his son Oscar who maintained the farm. Oscar then passed it down to his son George Brigham Stowe who decided to sell off the cattle and transition the farm out of being a cattle farm, and instead make it more crop-based. 

Ward Farm 

The Ward Farm in Shrewsbury was a large player in Worcester County's dairy industry in the early days. Noham Ward is credited as one of the original settlers within the town of Shrewsbury. The Ward family was heavily involved in both the agricultural and political world within Shrewsbury. Nahum died in 1754 leaving the farm to his son Artemas Ward. Artemas is perhaps the most famous of the Wards due to his position as a major general under the command of George Washington in the revolutionary war. The farm continued to be passed down from generation to generation. The farm transitioned to be more commercial in the late 1800s and it was realized the goods produced on the farm could be shipped to Boston for a profit rather than just simply producing food for the family or within the town. Also due to the lack of family help, the Ward family grew increasingly more dependent on outside laborers for help on the farm. Today, the farm is no longer in commission but the Ward family home next to the farm remains open as a museum where one can go to learn more about the ward family and their many accomplishments. 

West End Dairy 

The VandenAkker family began farming in the “west end” of Whitinsville, MA in the early 1900s. It turned into a dairy farm. The farm consisted of Holstein cows, cows that are known for dominating the dairy industry. This milk and cream produced by these cows were delivered to doorsteps all around the Blackstone Valley. However, due to changing consumer patterns, the farm was switched to wholesale milk sales in 1968. Today the farm remains within the VandenAkker family and is now a creamery. 

Wetherell Farm

The Wetherell Farm can be found in the area that is today more commonly known as Newton Hill. Back in the late 1800s, John Wetherell owned much of this land and had hopes of developing it. Wetherell himself did not live on this land and instead had a manager who lived there named Albert Woodward. The farm consisted of several dairy cows that were used for milking. The farm eventually was sold to the city of Worcester shortly after the death of John Wetherell and his wife and now parts of it today are still preserved as part of Elm Park. 

Worcester Home Farm AKA “Poor Farm”

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The Worcester Home Farm, more commonly known as the “Poor Farm,” was a farm that ran from 1818-1953 as operations were damaged by a tornado in 1953, yet it was able to continue operations for three more years. The farm was 599 acres and was a producer of dairy products as well as other farmed crops. The poor farm was a dairy of shame and silence, where shame and silence were the demands made of those working there to supplement the labor being completed. This dairy ceased operations in 1959.

Worcester State Hospital

Worcester is well known for having one of the first hospitals that treated those who were considered “insane”. There were of course hospitals treating those who were physically ill yet there was little focus this time on those with mental ailments. The hospital was first opened in 1833 and accepted patients from all over Massachusetts. The hospital focused on moral therapeutic treatment and one of the ways they accomplished this was by having the patients farm. The site had a large pasture and a farmhouse, and the patients were taught to care for the animals. Among these animals, there were a large number of cattle that the patients milked. This milk and other dairy products were sold locally. Operations within the hospital ended in 1991 and many parts of the hospital have been demolished. One of the few buildings that remain there today is the farmhouse.