Built in 1895, Helgi Jonasson decided to build a cheese factory west of Tindastoll. He felt that if farmers in the area sold him their cow’s milk, he could then make cheese to sell back to the community.
However, Jonasson found it very expensive to buy all the necessary equipment to operate the factory. The Icelanders had difficulty travelling all the way to the factory to sell him milk. As well, many were too poor to buy the cheese.
In 1897, Helgi went into partnership with Einar Johnson & expanded the enterprise to include buttermaking. They experienced business difficulties when another entrepreneur, Jon Benediktson decided to set up a small store & cheese factory just 2 miles north.
In 1899, the Dominion government approached 34 Icelandic farmers to form a joint stock company call the Tindastoll Butter & Cheese Manufacturing Association. Benediktson & Jonsson were convinced to sell their factories to the Association so it could develop one creamery for the community.
And…so it began. The Markerville Creamery opened in 1902 in the location where it stands today. A much larger Creamery for the community.
Above images and article originally posted on Historic Markerville’s Facebook page in June 2021.
You can find out more about the Creamery, the history of the dairy industry in Alberta, and how Markerville got its name.
CHURNING BUTTER by Rolf Buschardt Christensen is a newly released book available now at the Kaffistofa. The story is framed around the life and times of Christian Peter Marker, Alberta’s first Dairy Commissioner.
