Hildene – The Lincoln Family Home
Hildene is located in Vermont’s southwest corner, The Shires, in Manchester Village, close to many popular ski areas. It was the summer home for Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert and his wife, Mary.
Robert standing behind his parents. His brother, Tad at right. Photo from Vintage Ephemera.com
Robert was the President of the Pullman Company, the largest manufacturing business in the US at the turn of the century.
He built Hildene in 1905, and it stayed in the family for 70 years. Now, it is owned by the Friends of Hildene, a non-profit organization.
Today’s Hildene is rooted in Abraham Lincoln’s values, but committed to educating for the 21st century. Everything it does from historic preservation to sustainable farming is driven by it’s mission – Values into Action. I can’t begin to describe the beauty of Hildene.
In 2009, the Friends of Hildene reintroduced farming to promote sustainability and education at the property. They built the post and beam barn which houses the goats and the cheese making operation.
Note the solar panels on the roof.
They keep a herd of Nubian goats to make chevre and washed-rind goat milk tomme, and they purchase milk to make cow milk tomme. These cheeses are available to buy at the Welcome Center and through their wholesale purveyor, Provisions International, Ltd.
The former carriage house is now the Welcome Center.
Maarit Ostrow (28) is the head cheese maker. Maarit is originally from Worcester, MA. She first became interested in dairy farming at the Putney School where Peter Dixon, a nationally known cheese maker and consultant, spoke in one of her science classes.
Maarit Ostrow
She went on to get her BA from Brandeis University (in Art History), but after working part time at both a dairy farm and an art museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she realized office work wasn’t for her. So, she returned to New England and got a job at Formaggio Kitchen South End in Boston, a popular cut-to-order cheese shop specializing in unique European imports.
From there, she secured an apprenticeship at Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA where she continued to develop her cheese making skills. Now, she is in charge of all the cheese production at Hildene with assistance from other Hildene Farm staff.
Maarit runs a very tight ship. I was asked to bring a change of clothes for the transition from the barn to the make room. We wore hairnets and we donned special boots which we washed when we moved from one room to another. The barn was designed for best flow from high risk areas to low risk areas and Maarit is very carefully adhering to “best practices.”
Turning the chevre for draining.
Visiting the Dairy Barn
Visits begin at the Welcome Center where you can hop on a tram to all venues including: the goat dairy and cheese making facility at Hildene Farm, The Lincoln Family home and gardens, Pullman car, Sunbeam, and the Dene Farm.
I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this friendly driver.
While transportation between venues is available, walking is encouraged because it’s just a short distance from one stop to the next!
The barn was made from trees on the property and the wood was milled there.
The tram takes you to the entrance where you can visit with the goats and proceed in to watch the cheese making process through the viewing windows.
The Goats
These Nubians were taking a break from the hot sun. There are currently 19 of them milking. They are dried off in the winter.
Anyone can pet the kids (including Maarit who can’t resist doing it even though she sees them every day!).
The Viewing Windows
The milking parlor, make room and even the cave are visible through the large viewing windows.
The milking parlor was empty when I first arrived at the barn.
By the end of my visit, some of the goats were getting their second milking of the day.
The Make Room
Unlike most make rooms, this one is large and airy.
Currently, they have a 50 gallon pasteurizing vat, although they generally process only 30 gallons at a time.
This press is used for making cow milk tomme. Three wheels of cheese are typically stacked beneath each lever arm.
This picture shows how the weights are used. Note the curd cutters on the wall.
Weights for the press.
The chevre usually drains in the make room for 2 days. During that time, it is salted and then flipped.
The Labeling Area
Wrapping and labeling the cheese takes a lot of time.
All of Maarit’s cheeses have natural rinds. Tomme sold in The Museum Store is cut into wedges and waxed. The wax is in the pots, ready to be heated.
The Cave
These wheels of goat milk tomme are in the final stage of aging. Hildene Goat Tomme is a raw milk cheese.
These wheels of cow milk tomme (raw milk) were made in the winter and they are now aging for 5-12 months.
All of the (aged) cheeses shown above start with a soak in the brine tank for 18-24 hours.
After brining, the goat milk cheeses spend 3 weeks on this rack where they are brushed with a wash (which includes salt, Geotrichum and Brevibacterium Linens).
Maarit is working on a new cheese for Hildene – a leaf wrapped fromage blanc. (Stay tuned!)
You’re invited!
I was completely enchanted by Hildene and I hope you have the opportunity to go there. If you do, wave to Maarit through the viewing window (if she isn’t out in the barn, petting the goats!)
OPEN YEAR-ROUND
9:30AM TO 4:30PM
WWW.HILDENE.ORG
802.362.1788
INFO@HILDENE.ORG
HILDENE, THE LINCOLN FAMILY HOME
POST OFFICE BOX 377
MANCHESTER, VT 05254
IN
THE SHIRES OF VERMONT
Maarit with Paula Maynard (who wears many hats at Hildene).
