From the mid-1910s until 1969, Purdue faculty, staff, students, and visitors had the chance to stop by the Purdue University Creamery on campus, where they could purchase fresh ice cream.

The creamery was housed in Smith Hall after a gift of $50,000 from William C. Smith, a farmer from Williamsport, Indiana, to fund a building dedicated to instructing students on the principles of modern dairying. Smith Hall was completed in 1913, and the creamery store was located on the ground floor toward the south end of the building. The main east-west hallway that housed the creamery store now houses classrooms and offices of the Department of Entomology.

During the 1932–33 school year, the creamery processed more than 121,000 pounds of butter, 20,000 pounds of cheese, 6,300 gallons of sweet cream, almost 28,000 gallons of buttermilk, 60,500 gallons of milk, and more than 7,600 gallons of Purdue Creamery ice cream, according to the Agricultural Experiment Station annual report.

In a 1940 report on food purchased and served for campus use, university president Edward C. Elliott announced to Purdue trustees that all dairy products served on campus were manufactured at the Purdue Creamery and that no butter substitutes were served. It was board policy to give the students access to all the high-quality milk and butter they wanted.

In the early 1960s, the trustees hired an architectural firm to develop plans for a new creamery to replace the antiquated facility. The building was to be finished by 1965 but was put on hold before planning was completed.

After a September 28, 1962, Indianapolis Star article criticized Purdue for competing with privately owned dairies, creamery sales dropped. The home delivery route sales, which were limited to the West Lafayette–Lafayette area, dropped and were eliminated. This limited the creamery distribution to the food service complexes and student dormitories on campus.

In April 1969, university treasurer Lytle J. Freehafer informed the public that the methods of dairy processing had drastically changed, causing the creamery to become outdated. Trustees believed dairy products could be purchased more reasonably on the competitive market, so production at the creamery was halted on June 30, 1969.

Although the Purdue Creamery is no longer around, Purdue Creamery ice cream can be found at Pappy’s Sweet Shop in Purdue Memorial Union. The ice cream is manufactured using the original formula at Glover’s Ice Cream in Frankfort, Indiana.

What are your favorite hidden gems on campus? Let us know in the comments below.