 | Family owned and operated since 1936.
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| Building was originally located in New
Bedford, MA across from Fort Rodman.
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| Salvador's originally started with farming
and milk in 1890.
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| Joseph Salvador Sr. was the founder. In
1910, he retired and divided the farm and milk
business between his two oldest sons: Joseph Salvador Jr., and Augustine
("Gus") Salvador.
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| Joseph Jr. started his business on McCabe
St. and called it "Ideal Dairy" (now known as State Fruit).
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| Gus continued on Tucker Road with Salvador's
Dairy. In 1921, he moved to a building on Cove Rd., which is now known as
the Plumbing Supply building.
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| In 1928, Gus married Lillian Brasells and
bought farmland as well as a house and barn on Smith Neck Rd. They began
building the Dairy, which took approximately 2 years.
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| In 1935, the giant "milk can" was
moved from Fort Rodman in New Bedford to where it still stands today on
Smith Neck Rd in Dartmouth.
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| From 1935-1936 Lillian and her sister, Rose,
were educated in making homemade ice cream at Amherst University.
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| Salvador's opening season was in the spring
of 1936. They served approximately 12-14 flavors, primarily those made with
fresh fruit. Most popular flavors were: Vanilla, Butter Pecan, Frozen
Pudding and California Fruit.The menu included Ice Cream, Sundaes, Banana
Splits, Frappes, Hand-packed Quarts, Pints and Half-Pints.
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| In the mid 1960's, Gus became ill and was
forced to retire. The giant milk can was rented out from 1967 until 1972.
1967 was also the year when Salvador's stopped the production of ice cream
and milk on the premises.
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| In 1972, Lillian sold the business to her
nephew, Ray Jr. and his wife, Doris. They were encouraged by Lillian to make
the business succeed in order for it to stay within the family.
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| In 1983, Doris became the sole owner with
the help of her three kids.
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| In 1999, Carol, Doris' daughter, took over
the ice cream business. It was run with the help of her sister Sue and their
friend Cathy De Balsi.
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| In 2005, ownership transferred to Len and
Beth Gauvin. Len, Beth and their children, Ryan and Erica look forward to
serving up scoops of ice cream in the summer of 2005. With the help of
family and friends, renovations are underway to restore the 'CAN' to it's
original colors. Check out our 'Renovation' page
to view the efforts of the renovation.
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| August 12, 2005. Doors reopened for
business.
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| May 2006. Len & Beth Gauvin
receive accolades from the New Bedford Historical Society for their efforts
in the restoration if this historical landmark. [Click
here to view the award]
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| Memorial Day 2006 - Open for the
season. This weekend, Len & Beth re-opened the door for business
with 'Smith Neck Nellie' standing at attention on the top of the can. A
contest was held to name the cow. As some might remember, a cow graced
the top of the can when originally opened but came down in the hurricane of
1938.
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