About 1890, a number of creameries fitted up with separating and butter-making equipment, were put into operation. These receiving stations did much to make Harford a milk-producing county.
One of the first of these creameries, was the Harford Creamery, built in 1897, by four farmers of upper Harford: Benjamin Ayres, William P. Jackson, William B. Wright, and Andrew L. Anderson. It was made more attractive as a business center with the establishment of a country store by the same company. This plant received milk from almost 100 producers and handled as much as 20,000 pounds of milk daily. This was separated at the plant, the butter manufactured there, and shipped to the Baltimore market.
Creameries began to process milk in other sections: Shawsville, Norrisville, Pylesville, Dublin, Churchville, Fallston, and Darlington. With the coming of truck transportation and methods of refrigeration, most of the creameries disappeared.
The author worked in the Harford Creamery from 1898-1899 shared these facts:
By 6 a.m., the first of the horse-drawn wagons began arriving, loaded with several 5 and 10 gallon milk cans. By 8 a.m., the last of the wagons had drawn into the long line, and the cans had been dumped, their contents weighed and poured into large vats, each holding 5,000 gallons of milk. The pasteurizer, heating the milk to 160 degrees to kill bacteria, and the large centrifugal Reid Separator were already at work. After 4 or 5 hours, the work was completed and the cream was placed in vats under proper temperature for ripening to be ready for the next day’s churning. The big oblong churn was put into operation. After an hour of agitation, the butter was ready to be separated from the buttermilk and placed upon tables. The wooden rolls of a machine called a “worker” soon mixed in the salt and pressed the milk from the finished product. It was ready for printing and wrapping. This routine went on 6 days a week, producing a fine quality butter for the demands of the produce market.
Our Harford Heritage written by C. Milton Wright
c. 1967