Crescent Ridge Dairy Hundreds of Years of Tradition

The Crescent Ridge Dairy Farm has been in Sharon for hundreds of years, and current owner Mark Parrish said he wants to continue that tradition.

“There’s a lot of history behind this place, it’s been around a really long time,” he said. “I mean, Bay Road is one of the oldest roads in the country. It was the original road from Narragansett to Boston.”

Parrish said his family first bought the farm in 1932 during the depression. He said it had been a farm, tavern and summer resort area during its long history.

“My grandfather bought it and brought in some cows and started milking,” he said. “They raised three boys on the depression-era farm. One went off to college, and my dad and uncle were partners together for s lot of years.”

He said at that time, the farm dealt mainly with retail home delivery, and still does it to this day.

“We bottle our own milk and do home delivery,” he said. “It’s a bit smaller than it used to be, but we still do 4,000 home sin the metro Boston area. Our best home delivery customers are typically families with growing milk needs. We’re a real source of convenience and high quality.

Parrish said he grew up in the business with his dad and uncle.

“I’ve always had a real love for it,” he said. “I milked cows and helped my dad when I was a little boy. Helped milk cows and road on milk trucks from a young age. After college I did something else for a while, but I came back in 96.’ I’ve been here ever since.”

Parrish said the ice cream bar started in 1968, and it’s been a mainstay in Sharon ever since. He said now though they still do a lot of home delivery, the green movement has taken hold for local farms.

“We’ve able to expand some of the business a bit, we’re in a lot of grocery stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” he said. “Roche Brothers, Hannafords, Whole Foods and Shaws, there’s been a big expansion in that kind of business for us. People are focusing on buying local and knowing where their food comes from.”

Parrish added the use of the glass bottles means there’s less damage to the environment, because they get recycled, either through home delivery or commercially.

“It’s really the most ecologically sustainable way,” he said. “It’s never being thrown away. I like to say the glass is always greener.”

Parrish said they are now also raising their own Angus beef and pork, selling their products out of the store and for home delivery.

Crescent Ridge Dairy is located on 355 Bay Road and is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.