Grafton Village Cheese

Grafton, Vermont

Grafton Village Cheese was originally started in 1892 as a cheese making cooperative in rural Vermont. Such cooperatives were very common at the time. In the era before refrigeration, farmers needed to pool their resources to turn a surplus of fresh, highly perishable milk into cheese, butter, and other shelf stable products. In 1912, a fire destroyed the original factory. In the mid-1960’s, the Windham Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to promoting Vermont’s rural communities, restored the company, bringing cheese making back to Grafton Village.

The Windham Foundation’s mission is ‘to promote the vitality of Grafton and Vermont’s rural communities through its philanthropic and educational programs and its subsidiaries whose operations contribute to these endeavors.’ Grafton Village Cheese continues its historic tradition of buying raw, hormone-free milk from local dairies, and turning that milk into a wide array of cheeses. Grafton now has two production facilities – the original in Grafton Village, and another newer facility in nearby Brattleboro, Vermont. Grafton Village Cheese’s signature cheese is cheddar - it produces an award-winning line of cheddar cheese that is aged for up to five years. Grafton also produces a line of flavored cheddars, as well as a newer line of cave-aged cheeses.

Photo Credits: Grafton Village Cheese