The Marin French Cheese Company is a manufacturer of artisan cheese located in rural west Marin County, California. The company was founded in 1865 by Jefferson Thompson, and produces cheeses under the ''Marin French Cheese'' brand name. It is the oldest continually operating cheese manufacturer in the United States.

History

Early antecedents of the company may go back as far as 1854, although historical records from that era are sketchy. Other accounts state that a local woman named Clara Steele roped wild Spanish cattle in the area to make cheese starting in 1857. It is known that Jefferson Thompson established the current company in 1865, and his descendants continued the business for 133 years. The company used the ''Rouge et Noir'' brand name from 1906 until 2013, when the "Marin French Cheese" brand was created. Howard Bunce, former operations manager for the company, described their original product, "In the early years we made a granular cheese, it was a 'bar cheese' that was served to San Francisco dock workers – it was shipped by paddle wheeler down the

Petaluma River The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough for most of its length. The headwaters are in the area southwest of Cotati. The flow is generally southward through Petaluma's old town, ...

to San Francisco." In the 1930s, the dairy herd was decimated by disease, and was replaced by

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

cows from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. In 1998, Bob Thompson sold the business to the Boyce family of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, California, operators of organic cattle ranches in eastern California and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. Jim Boyce said that the company has a "symbiotic relationship" with the local dairy farmers who supply much of its milk. Mr. Boyce died in 2010 and, in 2011, Marin French was purchased by Rians fr, the respected French family of cheese producers that also owns Laura Chenel's Chèvre in neighboring Sonoma County.

Products

The company's original product in 1865 was a breakfast cheese, which was transported by horse-drawn carriage to

Petaluma Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village nam ...

, and then carried by steamboat to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, where it was sold to waterfront dockworkers. They still manufacture this breakfast cheese. Other products include

brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...

camembert Camembert (, also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit wi ...

chèvre Goat cheese, or chèvre ( or ; from French ''fromage de chèvre'' 'goat cheese'), is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world with a variety of ...

bleu Bleu or BLEU may refer to: * the French word for blue * '' Three Colors: Blue'', a 1993 movie * BLEU (Bilingual Evaluation Understudy), a machine translation evaluation metric * Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union * Blue cheese, a type of cheese ...

and washed-rind triple creme Schloss. In 2015 Petite Breakfast wears the commemorative vintage label, “1865” to celebrate their 150th year and honor their cheesemakers who sustained the craft over decades.

Facilities

The Marin French Cheese Company is located on a dairy ranch in the Hicks Valley, and includes a cheese processing and retail sales facility, as well as a variety of barns, storage buildings and a picnic area. Although the company has a Petaluma address, it is located southwest west of that city. It is northwest of

Novato Novato ( Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

. The company also conducts art exhibits at its location.

Agricultural heritage

The company collaborates with other local cheesemakers in Marin and Sonoma counties to support the annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, held in Petaluma. Former company's owner, Jim Boyce, describes their philosophy, "We remain dedicated to a rich heritage of artisan craftsmanship that has been passed down through the generations. Marin French Cheese Company now produces more than 40 different styles and varieties of cheese, yet each is handmade the same patient way, one cheese at a time, aged in the original hand dug cellar, and then hand weighed and packaged."

Awards

In 2005, the company's Triple Creme Brie won top honors in the pasteurized milk brie category at the World Cheese Awards in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. This was the only gold medal awarded in the class that year.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 38.1374, -122.7096, type:landmark_region:US-CA, display=title Cheesemakers Tourist attractions in Marin County, California Companies based in Marin County, California Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Petaluma, California 1865 establishments in California American cheeses Dairy products companies in California