1877: Cooley Creamer Invented
Vermont farmers were prolific inventors. The Cooley Creamer was invented and patented by William Cooley of Waterbury in 1877. Cooley sold his patent to the Vermont Farm Machinery Company. The Cooley Creamer, which used cooled water to separate cream from milk, was made in several different sizes and became a best seller. By the end of the 1880s it was used on a majority of New England farms. The water-sealed Cooley system was succeeded by the centrifugal-type separator by the end of the nineteenth century. The Vermont Farm Machinery Company’s U.S. Cream Separator and the Swedish DeLaval separator became two of the most popular brands.
