The phrase “Dairyland, USA” today brings to mind the State of Wisconsin. However, prior to 1900, this phrase would likely evoke New York. During the 19th century New York was a leader in the production of milk, cheese, and butter. All during the 19th century and into the early 20th century New York led the nation in the amount of milk it produced.

Around 1873, William A. Lawrence, a Chester, New York, dairyman, was the first to mass-produce cream cheese. In 1872, he purchased a Neufchâtel factory and shortly thereafter, by adding cream to the process, was able to create a richer cheese that he called “cream cheese”.^[9] In 1877, he created the first brand of cream cheese: its logo was a silhouette of a cow followed by the words: Neufchatel & Cream Cheese. In 1879, to create a larger factory, Lawrence entered into an arrangement with another Chester merchant, Samuel S. Durland.^[10] In 1880, Alvah Reynolds, a New York cheese distributor, began to sell the cheese of Lawrence & Durland and called it “Philadelphia Cream Cheese”.^[11]  – Source: Wikipedia