Louisville’s Oldest Ice Cream Brand

My new book, Oldest Louisville, is out, and I’m going to be posting exclusive content on my Patreon page — content that was cut from the book due to space constraints that now can only be accessed via Patreon. As a Patreon member (just $5 per month in support), you'll get exclusive content, such as this chapter from Oldest Louisville which was left on the cutting room floor at final edits due to space issues. Thank you for your support and enjoy! -kg

Oldest Ice Cream Brand

For a long, long time, Ehrler’s was a go-to name for ice cream in Louisville. The company has an interesting history when it comes to what led it to that place in local culture, and how it’s made a comeback.

The company traces its roots to the arrival in Louisville of Einsiedeln, Switzerland, native Joseph Maria ­Ehrler, an 18-year-old from a poor family who was looking for opportunities. Mass emigration from Europe to America had begun in waves in the early and middle 1800s, and Ehrler believed he would find a new life. According to Einsiedeln Everywhere, which traces the stories of families who joined Ehrler in emigrating to Louisville during that time, when Ehrler arrived, he worked as a laborer for a Swiss farmer, with milking cows being part of his duties.

Ehrler would acquire a wagon and horse, and a few years after he had arrived in Louisville, the hard-working young man started his own dairy farm with a handful of cows on what is now Shelbyville Road. …

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