Cheese...New York State Cheese. Whatever the package: blocks, bricks, chunks, sticks, slices, loaves or wheels; when you choose a package of New York State Cheese, you have selected a cheese of highest quality and superior taste. And when you have chosen a McCadam Cheese, you have bought the finest that New York State has to offer.

New York State has been a dominant cheese-producing state since the early settler days of the 19th century. The Barge Canal facilitated exportation of the State's cheese, thereby making New York State cheese making not only popular but prosperous. Only a handful of yesterday's cheese producers have stood the test of time. The McCadam Cheese Company is one of them -- today, over 100 years later, McCadam's New York State Cheese is still being enjoyed by cheese lovers.

The first cheeses were made in the farm kitchen. Wheels weighing from 30 to 100 lbs. were formed, coated in butter to prevent evaporation and placed in cool cellars to cure. When ready, the finished cheeses were stacked onto wagons and pulled by oxen to a loading place on the canal.

The barges, piled high and colorfully with an assortment of white, yellow and orange cheeses, were pulled by mule along the towpath destined for New York City and distribution. Some were sold locally, some were bound for Europe, and the rest made their way to different parts of a rapidly growing America. (During the 8 years Andrew Jackson was president of the United States, he made sure he always had plenty of his favorite New York State Cheese on hand to serve his White House guests...he periodically ordered 2,000 lb. wheels!)

The distinctive, unsurpassed quality of New York State Cheese did not happen by accident. Cheese-makers labored to become adept at their craft and when their skill proved successful, their methods were carefully guarded and handed down from generation to generation.

And so it was with McCadam family. McCadam Cheese Company, Inc.. was established in 1876 by William McCadam in the small community of Heuvelton, New York. His cheese making expertise was first recognized nationally by winning the first medal at the Chicago Exposition in 1894. In 1934, during the "Great Depression", McCadam reorganized and expanded their cheese manufacturing to a facility in Chateaugay, New York, which is our primary cheese manufacturing facility today.

Through the years, McCadam Cheese Company has continued its distinguished cheese making expertise, however, it has had several changes in ownership. In 1972 Dean Foods purchased the assets of McCadam Cheese and operated it as a wholly owned subsidiary. Under the Dean's ownership a significant investment was made for the modernization and expansion of the operation. In 1991, Valio Ltd., a Finnish Cooperative purchased the assets from Dean Foods, and similarly invested large sums in expanding the manufacturing capability to include European type cheeses.

In 2003, ownership returned to the U.S. with the acquisition of McCadam Cheese by Agri-Mark, the leading dairy farmer cooperative in the Northeast.

Today, over a century since William McCadam founded the cheese company, McCadam has the capability to manufacture 20 different cheeses. Whether it is Muenster from the deli for mouth-watering sandwiches or Adirondack Reserve Cheddar for snacking at its best, McCadam continues to offer New York's finest cheeses.

Close window