Augustus Nicodemus, Sr., established a creamery in Buckeystown in 1887. The introduction of centrifugal separators by manufacturers like Gustaf de Laval expedited the processing of milk and cream, enabling the mechanization of a task that was traditionally done by hand in the home. Frederick County farmers harnessed this technology to make dairy a leading agricultural industry in the county, shipping products to the markets of growing cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, via local railroad networks.
A.W. Nicodemus and Sons processed milk and cream and produced ice cream in their Buckeystown plant, expanding the business by establishing branch factories in Hyattstown and Urbana as well as Woodstock, Virginia. When this photograph of the Buckeystown plant was taken in 1904, Nicodemus and Sons were processing up to 2,000 gallons of milk and 400 gallons of cream every day and up to 600 gallons of ice cream weekly.
In 1921, Nicodemus and Sons relocated their operation to Frederick, selling the Buckeystown plant to Chapin-Sacks Manufacturing Company. The new Frederick plant was built on East Patrick Street near Carroll Creek. Two years later, the Nicodemus company constructed 10 bungalow style houses for workers and their families along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Three generations of Nicodemus family management of the creamery came to a conclusion in 1961 when the business was sold to Karlin, Inc. Today, the site of the Nicodemus creamery continues to serve as a dairy processing facility, now under management of Saputo.
This article by Jody Brumage, Heritage Frederick Archivist and Museum Manager, was originally published in the June 2026 edition of Frederick magazine. To see the original article, click here >>