About The Caves

The Legendary Sandstone Caves Of Faribault, Minnesota

**Unfortunately, we cannot offer public tours of our caves.**

Legend holds that the first Blue cheese was born in the natural caves of France where ideal humidity and temperature conditions allowed native blue-green molds to flourish. Since 1936, that tradition has lived on at the historic sandstone Caves of Faribault — home of America’s First Blue Cheese.

Located on a tall sandstone bluff overlooking the Straight River in the small town of Faribault, The Caves of Faribault natural sandstone caves were carved in the 1850s into the St. Peter’s sandstone that formed in the last glacial age. This sandstone allows water to travel both horizontally and vertically and has a natural capacity for absorbing ammonia, making it ideal for affinage — the ancient art of maturing and aging cheese.

Every handmade batch of our award-winning AmaBlu®, AmaGorg® and St. Pete’s Select® Blue cheese is cured and aged exclusively in these sandstone caves. You can also taste the subtle nuances in the Cherubic Gouda, St. Helga’s European Swiss, Felix Blue Cheese, and our Blues & Brews series.

History

The original cave was carved in the 1850s for Fleckenstein Brewing Co. founded by German immigrants Ernst & Gottfried Fleckenstein. Before modern-day refrigeration, beer caves were commonly used to store the beer at cooler temperatures. Fleckenstein operated here until 1919 when Prohibition was imposed. The caves did not reopen under Fleckenstein Brewing Co.

In the 1930s, a cheese maker by the name of Felix Frederiksen traveled to Minnesota in search of St. Peter Sandstone, geologically rare across the nation but abundant in Minnesota as a result of the last glacial age. Felix found the abandoned caves in Faribault and set up shop for making the first American Blue cheese. Before the 1930s, all of the Blue cheese consumed in the United States was imported from Europe.WWII put constraints on the importation, so Felix was in good business. Many more caves were hollowed between the 1930s and 1970s by his company Treasure Cave, Inc.

Treasure Cave was closed down at this location in the 1990s by a company that bought the caves and then moved production to a conventional cheese-making facility in another state.

Faribault Dairy Company, Inc. (now known as Caves of Faribault®) was founded in June 2001 to revitalize the caves after an eight-year dormancy. American-made AmaBlu® premium Blue cheese from the famous St. Peter Sandstone caves was back in the marketplace. AmaBlu® Gorgonzola and St. Pete's Select® super-premium Blue cheese came to follow, forming a triumvirate of hand-made, cave-aged, internationally acclaimed Blue cheeses.

Caves of Faribault Wins Chairman’s Award at 2023 NMPF Contest

Published On: November 30, 2023
At this year’s National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) Cheese and Yogurt Contest, Caves of Faribault was awarded several top honors.  The awards ceremony was held during the 2023 Joint Annual Meeting…

American Cheese Society Announces Annual Judging and Competition Winners

Published On: August 03, 2023
Caves of Faribault was recently awarded a top honor at the 2023 American Cheese Society Judging and Competition.  Awards for the 40th anniversary of the competition were announced on July, 19th…

American Cheese Society Announces New Board of Directors Members

Published On: September 13, 2022
Recently, the American Cheese Society announced their newest members of the Board of Directors.  We are proud to announce that among the newly elected roster is our own, Erin Clancy, Sales…

Caves of Faribault Wins Award at ACS

Published On: July 29, 2022
Earlier this month, Caves of Faribault was awarded at the 39th annual American Cheese Society Annual Conference held in Portland, Oregon on July 20-23. The ACS conference announces annual winners from…

2022 ACS Annual Conference Sponsorship

Published On: July 12, 2022
Each year, thousands of cheese professionals from around the country gather to celebrate and learn about the cheese industry at the American Cheese Society Annual Conference.  The American Cheese Society (ACS)…

Caves of Faribault Wins at World Championship Cheese Contest

Published On: March 08, 2022
Faribault, MN – Last week cheesemakers from over 29 countries across the globe submitted their cheeses for three days of intense judging to determine the top cheese champions at the prestigious…

Caves of Faribault Wins at World Dairy Expo

Published On: September 13, 2021
The results are in for this year’s World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Products Contest and Caves of Faribault has been named among the competition winners.  Caves of Faribault took second place…

American Cheese Month

Published On: May 01, 2021
Did you know there is an entire month dedicated to the celebration of American cheeses?  May is American Cheese Month, a celebration of North America’s delicious and diverse cheeses, and the…

Caves of Faribault Website Wins Silver Award

Published On: April 14, 2021
Caves of Faribault was recently selected as a winner in the eighteenth annual Service Industry Advertising Awards.  The newly redesigned Caves of Faribault website was entered into the contest by the…

St. Pete’s Select Wins 2020 NCCIA Award

Published On: October 26, 2020
St. Pete’s Select Blue Cheese earned one of the top honors at the 2020 North Central Cheese Industries Association annual cheese contest held in Norwood, Minnesota. St. Pete’s finished second in…

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Contact Us

For more information about the legendary sandstone caves of Faribault, Minnesota, or our Cave-Aged Blue and Affinage Cheeses please fill out the form below.