This Tillamook-area cheese factory was one of several small factories in the central Tillamook County region that functioned before consolidation into the one large factory north of Tillamook after it was built in 1949. In early 1969, all remaining Tillamook County factories were forced to join that large factory. One of the causes of the cheese war was fear among cheese milk producers that Cheese & Dairy would close the small factories…but when County Creamery won the fight, it closed the factories anyway. Several reasons were behind the move, including the state’s then-new sanitation requirement of bulk tanks on farms, which meant tanker trucks could easily collect milk from each farm rather than the farmers needing to deliver milk cans to their local factories. Another factor was the small, sometimes inconsistent output from the little factories; in addition, small factories lacked modern cold storage. Finally, people were more aware of the environmental impact of dumping whey into the waterways beside the factories. (Photo credit: William Helwig)
