Sautee Nacoochee in White County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
The Creamery
Hardman Farm Historic Site
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, March 28, 2026
1. The Creamery Marker
Inscription.
The Creamery. . Dairy workers pulled the fresh milk cart up the hill from the dairy barn to this creamery. Here the workers used a separator to remove the fat or cream from the milk. Hardman's eparator used centrifugal force so that the cream would be thrown off and the skim milk was drained off through tubes. This skim milk sometimes called blue john was often fed to the livestock. Workers diverted the cold stream water to chill the cream. Butter is best churned from cream with a temperature between 55 and 60 degrees. Finally, the chilled cream was placed in a churn barrel and processed into butter. This electrically-operated churn ran for about 45 to 60 minutes., Next, workers placed the butter on a chilled marble slab where the remaining milk was worked out using two paddles. They then molded the fresh butter into one pound blocks and stamped each "Nacoochee Dairy." The butter was shipped by train to Atlanta and Gainesville once a week in 50 pound boxes. As the rail cars had no refrigeration, it was necessary for the trip to take only one day. Some of the butter and cream was sold here in the valley. Other customers regularly received one or two pounds by parcel post., The process of making Nacoochee butter also created buttermilk which was at the time more popular than sweet milk. Some of the buttermilk was brought to the house and placed in shallow milk pans about 12" in diameter so that the fat could rise and be skimmed off as clabber. Clabber is produced when unpasteurized milk is allowed to turn sour at a specific humidity and temperature. It develops a yogurt-like substance with a strong, sour flavor. In rural areas of the southern United States, it was commonly eaten for breakfast with syrup or fruit., Photo caption: Circa 1919 photograph of an unidentified worker standing near the creamery
Dairy workers pulled the fresh milk cart up the hill from the dairy barn to this creamery. Here the workers used a separator to remove the fat or cream from the milk. Hardman's eparator used centrifugal force so that the cream would be thrown off and the skim milk was drained off through tubes. This skim milk sometimes called blue john was often fed to the livestock. Workers diverted the cold stream water to chill the cream. Butter is best churned from cream with a temperature between 55 and 60 degrees. Finally, the chilled cream was placed in a churn barrel and processed into butter. This electrically-operated churn ran for about 45 to 60 minutes.
Next, workers placed the butter on a chilled marble slab where the remaining milk was worked out using two paddles. They then molded the fresh butter into one pound blocks and stamped each "Nacoochee Dairy." The butter was shipped by train to Atlanta and Gainesville once a week in 50 pound boxes. As the rail cars had no refrigeration, it was necessary for the trip to take only one day. Some of the butter and cream was sold here in the valley. Other customers regularly received
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one or two pounds by parcel post.
The process of making Nacoochee butter also created buttermilk which was at the time more popular than sweet milk. Some of the buttermilk was brought to the house and placed in shallow milk pans about 12" in diameter so that the fat could rise and be skimmed off as clabber. Clabber is produced when unpasteurized milk is allowed to turn sour at a specific humidity and temperature. It develops a yogurt-like substance with a strong, sour flavor. In rural areas of the southern United States, it was commonly eaten for breakfast with syrup or fruit.
Photo caption: Circa 1919 photograph of an unidentified worker standing near the creamery
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings.
Location. 34° 41.225′ N, 83° 42.46′ W. Marker is in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia, in White County. It can be reached from Georgia Route 17 north of Unicoi Turnpike, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 143 GA-17, Sautee Nacoochee GA 30571, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally,
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, March 28, 2026
2. The Creamery Marker
this marker is in Georgia’s Mountains. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, March 28, 2026
3. The Creamery Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 6, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 9, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
