Several small factories near the town of Tillamook agreed to consolidate if they could use a new, larger facility. Clover Leaf, Maple Leaf and Holstein factories joined forces with Tillamook Cheese Factory to build the factory north of Tillamook that we know today. The new cooperative was named Tillamook Cheese Association. (Photo Credit: The Oregonian,… READ MORE
Category Archives: Factory System
Boxes for Shipping Cheese
In the early days of Tillamook’s cheese production, wood from the area’s many forests was used to make boxes that protected the cheese while it was shipped to groceries. Usually, the task of making boxes fell to the most junior worker in the cheese factories, who made boxes while observing the other workers and the… READ MORE
Two Groups, One Roof
During most of the Cheese War, Cheese & Dairy and County Creamery co-existed at the large Tillamook cheese factory. A judge had ordered that each cooperative could use the space so they shared equipment and production rooms. This schematic, developed for use in a later lawsuit, noted that an area marked with jagged lines was… READ MORE
Confrontation at County Creamery Office
In late August 1963, two Red Clover Cheese Factory board members went to the Tillamook County Creamery Association’s office to retrieve their factory’s files. Bert Quick and Bass Tone were stopped by a guard and the association manager, Beale Dixon. TCCA, the marketing organization selling all of Tillamook’s cheese, including Red Clover’s, was storing each… READ MORE
Milk Cans
In 1952, cans of milk were photographed moving through the modern Tillamook Cheese Factory, the starting point of converting milk to cheese. The number on each can indicated the owner. By 1960, Tillamook Grade A dairy farmers – who supplied drinking milk – were eyeing the bulk tanks coming into use in the Willamette Valley.… READ MORE
Storage of Cheese in Main Factory
After the large factory was built north of Tillamook in 1949, cheese was stored and aged uniformly in refrigerated rooms. Some of the wheels of cheese were being stored because production outstripped sales. Credit: (top) Northwest Digital Heritage; (bottom) Tacoma Public Library, D67477-89, Richards Studio READ MORE
Early Tillamook County Oregon Cheese Factories
In 1918, 27 cheese factories operated in Tillamook County, Oregon; by 1928, consolidations and closures reduced the number to 19. Total sales in 1928 were $1,775,950, or $32,992,270 today. (Partial view of then-Tillamook Cheese Factory in 1938. Credit: Headlight-Herald, June 23, 1976) READ MORE
Cheese & Dairy Wins Declaratory Judgment Lawsuit
The Oregon Journal Articles
The following articles, ads and photos relevant to the Cheese War appeared in issues of The Oregon Journal, a now-defunct newspaper. All material is available on microfilm. The chronology also provides an overview of the Cheese War. (Credit: The Oregonian) Reuse Permission, The Oregon Journal Date Headline Dec 25, 1925 Subject: “Salem, Dec. 25 –… READ MORE
Articles from The Oregonian
The following articles, ads and photos relevant to the Cheese War appeared in issues of The Oregonian. All material is available on microfilm. The chronology also provides an overview of the Cheese War. (Credit: The Oregonian) Reprint Permissions, The Oregonian Date Headline Oct 30, 1949 Photo and caption: Northwest’s Largest Cheese Plant Opened at Tillamook… READ MORE
