The Saxon Homestead was founded by the Klessig family in 1848. The Klessigs came to the United States from Germany and settled in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin where the rich soil provided a wonderful landscape for dairying. By 1870, they were already making cheese because they had an abundance of milk. Over decades, the farm had transitioned into a conventional confinement operation but in the late 1980’s, the family began to think about moving back to old ways and converting the dairy back to a pasture-based system. Today, the Saxon property is made up of 850 acres of pasture land and a couple hundred additional acres of forage and cropland. The farm is operated by fifth-generation Klessig family members and their families. The farm supports 450 Holstein/Jersey crossbred cows. Seeing the positive impacts of this shift in their dairy on the landscape, the cows, and also the milk itself, the family started thinking about creating a value-added product. More than a decade later, they built a creamery nearby and began crafting cheeses that would showcase their wonderful milk. Their cheeses look distinctive because of the embossing on each wheel that comes from the form curds rest in right after being scooped from the vat!
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