History
Since 1904 Dreyer Farms has developed a rich history and are embedded in the history of Cranford, New Jersey
In the late 1800s, Augustus “Gus”, immigrated to the United States with his brother, Henry, landing in New York City. Gus worked in a grocery store for a year and then decided to return to what he knew–farming. After buying a pig and vegetable farm in Secaucus, the brothers farmed for a few years before wanting to obtain more land.
Henry bought land in Cranford which is now Union County College and some of the adjacent roads surrounding it. Shortly after Henry’s purchase, Gus joined his brother in Cranford and bought the neighboring farm, which is the land we still farm today. At this point, both farms were considered truck farms. Which meant they grew their produce, packed it into trucks and sold it to markets. Including one in Newark and another in Elizabeth. Henry later sold his land to a golf course that would exist there until the Depression, while he farmed at a new land plot in Freehold. During the Depression, Henry bought back the golf course property and later sold it to UCC.
Over the years, the Dreyer family would also come to buy land in Englishtown and other areas to ensure that they could always keep the family farm up and running while businesses and schools were constantly bidding on land in the area.
Gus Dreyer would eventually marry and have six children. He divided his 36-acre farm amongst them. The land we farm in Cranford today is the land that was given to his son Henry. Henry would go on to marry Henrietta who grew up on her family’s perennial plant and pansy farm right next door in Springfield!
Henrietta was a school teacher until she became pregnant with her first child, Henry. Once she was with child, her focus became more dedicated to the farm and ways to improve it. A few years later, she had her second son, John. In 1946, Henrietta opened the original farm stand on the very land her husband, Henry, was given by his father. This stand stood for over 60 years, ran diligently by Henrietta alone as her husband grew crops. They didn’t have a cooler to store the produce, so she had a big job of preparing freshly picked produce. After four years of solo work, she hired a neighbor– the first Dreyer employee! Henry would grow the vegetables and harvest them for Henrietta to sell while she also developed and ran the plant side of the business in the Spring.
Over time, they would add on to the building to accommodate the growing demand for corn and other produce. At this time, a produce cooler was also added. Young Henry frequently worked in the greenhouse with his mother, adding bedding plants and many annuals to the family business. He added numerous greenhouses to the property, increasing the season of the farm even more.
After schooling and gaining other work experience, John returned to the farm deciding that his contributions would be starting the season even earlier in the year with Easter plants and extending the season further with Christmas trees. The first year of Christmas trees John was so excited for his new contribution that he rented a HUGE rack body truck to pick up his Christmas trees- he got 125 and it barely took up a fraction of the truck. Years later we have figured it out and sell almost 2,000 trees each year. Henry and John would both get married, have children, and stay in Cranford. Jess, John’s oldest daughter, would spend a great deal of time with her Grandmother in the greenhouse and in the market learning the business.
After Jess attended college for Soil Science and worked as a perennial landscaper for a bit to gain more experience, she returned to the farm full of new ideas and inspiration. In 2013 Jess authorized and planned the new building, using her Grandmother’s stand as a model. You can still see pictures of the old stand, honored in big photographs around the market area. She also restyled the logo using a Pansy, in honor of her Grandmother Henrietta, and Jess’s favorite vegetable, a carrot. The logo came to symbolize the two women that made this farm stand as amazing and thriving as it is today. Always striving for the highest quality for over a century, Dreyer Farms has no plans to stop any time soon.
Each time the tale of Dreyer Farms is told, there are new things to learn and giggle at too! If you’re curious, ask Jess, Bret or John Dreyer about some tales from the past, guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
