In Plymouth, Vermont, a small cheese factory has been operating since the 1890s — and the family name above the door is one you'd recognize from any American history class.
A Presidential Legacy in Cheese
Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States, but before he was in the White House he was a Vermont farm boy, and his family's roots in Plymouth Notch run deep. The Coolidge Family Cheese Factory has been producing handmade cheese on the same property since the 1890s — predating his presidency by decades. It's still in operation today, still making cheese by hand, and still drawing visitors who want to taste something with genuine history behind it.
"The curds are made using traditional methods, and the flavor reflects that — sharper and more complex than anything you'd find in a supermarket."
What Makes It Worth the Stop
Plymouth Notch is a remarkably well-preserved historic site — the entire village looks much as it did when Coolidge was born there in 1872. The cheese factory is part of that living history, not a museum exhibit. You can buy the cheese, taste it, and take it with you. The curds are made using traditional methods, and the flavor reflects that — sharper and more complex than anything you'd find in a supermarket. It's the kind of artisan product that makes you wish more presidential birthplaces had kept their family businesses running.
Artisan Products Worth Seeking Out
The Coolidge cheese factory is a good reminder that the best food souvenirs are the ones made by people who've been doing it for generations. Whether it's cheese in Vermont, hot sauce in Louisiana, or smoked fish on the coast of Maine, the products that carry real history are worth going out of your way for. What artisan products have you discovered in your travels? The ones made by hand, by families, in places that haven't changed much — those are the ones worth writing home about.
