A roadside marker on a rural New York highway in Oswego County commemorates the bizarre story of a 1,400-pound wheel of cheese that became a presidential spectacle.
On a quiet stretch of Route 11 in Sandy Creek, New York, a historical marker stands as a modest testament to a truly monumental piece of dairy. It reads, “Home of the Big Cheese,” a simple title for a story that is anything but. This marker commemorates the farm of Colonel Thomas S. Meacham, a 19th-century dairy farmer with a flair for the dramatic, and the creator of a colossal cheddar that would leave a lasting, and odorous, legacy at the White House.
In 1835, in a grand gesture of local pride and showmanship, Colonel Meacham embarked on an ambitious project: to create the largest cheese the nation had ever seen and present it to President Andrew Jackson. This was no ordinary block of cheese. It required the milk of 150 cows over five days to produce a behemoth weighing a staggering 1,400 pounds and measuring four feet in diameter.
But Meacham’s vision extended beyond mere cheesemaking. He was a master of spectacle. The giant cheddar, adorned with a red, white, and blue band bearing patriotic mottos, was paraded from Sandy Creek on a specially constructed, flag-draped wagon drawn by a team of forty-eight gray horses. Its journey to Washington D.C. was a traveling celebration, drawing crowds and fanfare at every stop.
Upon its arrival at the White House, the “Big Cheese” became an immediate sensation. For weeks, it sat in the Entrance Hall, a curiosity for visitors and a slowly ripening, and increasingly fragrant, fixture of the executive mansion.
Finally, on Washington’s Birthday in 1836, President Jackson, nearing the end of his term, decided to share his massive gift with the public. He threw a grand “cheese levee,” inviting citizens from all walks of life to partake. The response was overwhelming. A crowd of thousands descended upon the White House, armed with knives and crackers, and devoured the entire cheese in a mere two hours.
The aftermath was as legendary as the cheese itself. The White House carpets were reportedly stained with cheese, and a pungent odor lingered in the halls for months, a stubborn reminder of the dairy colossus that had held court.
Today, all that remains of this bizarre and odorous chapter of presidential history is the quiet marker on Route 11. It’s a humble reminder that sometimes, the most peculiar and memorable stories can be found in the most unexpected of places, born from the ambition of a dairy farmer who dared to think big.
