If You’re in the Ice Cream Industry, Pennsylvania is the Place to Be!

The story of ice cream in America has to begin with Dolley Madison, renowned as the White House hostess for not one but two U.S. Presidents, first for widower Thomas Jefferson, under whom her husband served as Secretary of State, and subsequently for President James Madison himself.

Raised in a prominent Quaker family, young Dolley was the belle of the first U.S. capital, Philadelphia. When her first husband, John Todd, died in the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic after just three years of marriage, at age 26 she was introduced by her lawyer, Aaron Burr, to Congressman James Madison, a bachelor 17 years her senior, and was married. Their elegant house at 343 Walnut Street, just two blocks from the State House (now Independence Hall) and operated as a house museum by the National Park Service, was where Dolley got her start as a political hostess.

Dolley was adept at cultivating politicians on both sides of the aisle; she made sure that her parties were fun, and her signature dish was ice cream. Her specialty was oyster ice cream, made with sweet oysters, either from the Delaware River or from the Potomac, near Montpelier, the Madison estate in Virginia.

Tastes were very different in those days. Eighteenth-century cookbooks have recipes for artichoke, truffle, avocado, foie gras, and parmesan cheese ice cream! Vanilla, it seems, was not popular at all at that time.

In the 20th century, Dolly (without the e) Madison Ice Cream was marketed by the same company that produced Hostess Twinkies, further immortalizing her link to ice cream.

The crank ice cream maker was invented in Philadelphia in 1843, enabling ice cream to evolve as something of a cottage industry in the mid-19th century, with ice cream parlors becoming a popular Victorian-era destination. Unlike bars, an ice cream parlor was an acceptable place for ladies and men to socialize together.

America’s oldest ice cream company is Bassetts, which, says sixth-generation family member Alex Bassett Strange, “got its start in 1861, when my great-great-great-grandfather started making ice cream by mule power. He would take his finished product to the farmers markets in Philadelphia, and due to popular demand, he opened a shop at 5th and Market Streets in 1885.”

When the Reading Terminal Market opened in 1892, the Bassetts opened a retail store there, and they (and their marble countertop) have been there ever since. Their manufactured product is highly regarded today as “Philadelphia-style” ice cream, made without egg yolks to accentuate the cream taste. They have a global customer base, shipping Bassetts ice cream to China, Korea, and Japan.

“Philadelphia is a historic hub for ice cream,” says Alex. “Many old-school ice cream brands and innovations have come from this city. If you’re in the ice cream industry, Pennsylvania is the place to be.” Another top ice cream producer based in Philadelphia is Breyers, founded in 1866.

Woolman Dairies was another brand with Quaker Philadelphia roots. Now a part of Sealtest, in the 20th century, it had a large manufacturing plant in West Philadelphia, not far from the dairy farms of Chester and Delaware Counties. It had a fleet of horse-drawn milk wagons that serviced neighborhoods throughout the city. Family member Joan Woolman Glenn recounts the calamitous day when a raging fire engulfed the horse barn.

“They had to let all the horses go, running loose on the streets. When they began finding them, they discovered that they had all gone to their respective milk routes, calmed by the familiar surroundings of the streets they walked each day.”

Central Pennsylvania, with a significant presence of dairy farming, has had a thriving ice cream industry for nearly as long as Philadelphia. But while an abundant source of fresh milk is essential to making ice cream, it also is an important ingredient in the making of milk chocolate, the snack globally popularized by chocolatier Milton S. Hershey. It is said that the milk of 5,000 dairy cows on farms surrounding Hershey was needed each day to produce milk chocolate at the rate of 100,000 pounds per day.

It was in 1894, a year after Milton Hershey saw an exhibition of chocolate making at the 1893 Columbian Exposition that he established the Hershey Chocolate Company. By uncanny coincidence, that very same year the Hershey Creamery Company was launched. Both companies were founded in Lancaster County; both subsequently relocated to Dauphin County,

The Hershey Creamery Company was founded by Jacob Hershey (no relation to Milton) and his four brothers, Isaac, John, Paris, and Eli. Originally operating out of their Lancaster County farmhouse, they packed their ice cream in metal-lined wooden containers of their own design.

In the 1920s, the company merged with the Holder family’s Bethlehem-based Meyer Dairy Company, retaining the Hershey name. In 1926, with demand for the ice cream exceeding the capacity of the farmhouse, the newly merged company constructed its first ice cream plant in Harrisburg. That building still stands today on S. Cameron Street, supported by satellite facilities outside of Harrisburg.

Sharing such a famous name, and located just 15 miles apart, the two Hershey businesses were bound to experience confusion and conflict. The companies have had a “tumultuous” relationship marked by multiple lawsuits over trademark issues. In the mid-1990s, the companies settled their most recent legal battles out of court, with Hershey Creamery Company agreeing to add a disclaimer to its ice cream products to note that it is not affiliated with the Hershey Company.

Hershey’s product line includes hand-dipped and pre-packaged ice cream, and “novelties” (individually packaged cones, dessert cups, two types of ice cream sandwiches, and a variety of stick bars) that could be sold over the counter in small stores or on neighborhood streets from a small truck whose sound system alerted and attracted customers.

Whereas businesses such as Bassetts expanded their reach by marketing to institutional customers and convenience stores, Turkey Hill, headquartered in southern Lancaster County, has expanded by creating its own convenience stores, the Turkey Hill “Minit Markets” scattered across Pennsylvania and beyond. Turkey Hill ice cream is a signature product, with wide distribution in grocery stores nationwide and internationally. The company started making ice cream in 1954, having been in the milk business since 1931 when founder Armor Frey began selling milk to neighboring households. Turkey Hill also produces 20 varieties of iced teas, as well as other non-carbonated beverages. The name “Turkey Hill” references the spot named by Conestoga Indians for the property that Frey’s ancestors acquired from the sons of William Penn some 300 years ago.

That history, as well as the story of ice cream making, is told at the “Turkey Hill Experience,” a visitors’ center in a former 19thcentury silk mill in Columbia Borough. With interactive exhibits showing how ice cream is made, the attraction is popular with children and adults. Although not an actual factory, the Turkey Hill Experience was recently rated by Good Housekeeping as one of the top 10 factory tours in America.

One specialty ice cream product that is much beloved in the Harrisburg area is the “Farm Show Milkshake.” The PA Dairymen’s Association has been selling milkshakes at the annual Farm Show since January 1953. Like other agricultural trade organizations with stands at the Farm Show, they do this both to promote the products of their industry and as a fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting agricultural scholarships, youth programs, hunger prevention and the PA Dairy Princess program.

Farm Show milkshakes are so highly regarded that it ultimately made sense to make them available not just during Farm Show week but in all seasons. Thus, the “Milkshakes on the Moo-ve” program was initiated whereby their milkshake stand may be requested for a community or corporate event. Meanwhile, a competing business simply titled “Farm Show Milkshakes,” established in 1916 by a group of Penn State grads with ties to Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry, sells milkshakes at local football games and charity events. The two entities are currently in a trademark dispute.

Starting out small like Armor Frey did in the early 20th century, ice cream entrepreneur Adam Brackbill launched “Urban Churn” in Harrisburg in the early 21st century, producing “all natural craft ice creams and desserts” inspired by cultures from around the world.

“Instead of your typical hot fudge sundae or banana split,” says Brackbill, “we offer desserts such as Lemon Bar Sundaes, Bourbon Banana Splits, Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches, Tiramisu Sundaes and more.” Urban Churn has retail locations in Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, and Carlisle.

Customers may pre-order limited edition flavors in pints (or larger) for quick pickup at any of the three stores. Urban Churn also can provide ice cream for special events. “We churn and offer any of our staple flavors packed in one to three gallons,” Brackbill says.