Ad for “Pure and Very Old Wine & Cider Vinegar” for sale at Croton Point from the Highland Democrat , June 17, 1893. If you want to introduce kids to Croton’s agricultural heritage, take them to Thompson’s Cider Mill on a Saturday to watch proprietor

Geoff Thompson and his crew turn bushels of heirloom and traditional apples into old-fashioned apple cider. They may not use the antique cider-making equipment that’s on display outside the mill, but the process is essentially the same as it was in

the 18th and 19th century when the Underhills were growing grapes and apples on Croton Point and “one of the largest orchards in this country” belonging to “Mr. Conklin” was selling barrels of cider 1 for $3 to $7 each from an orchard between Croton

and Verplanck. 2 For more information on Thompson’s Cider Mill, see their website . Click the image to start the slideshow (and don’t miss the footnotes at the bottom of the page). Thompson’s Cider Mill has been in operation for 37 years. The orchard

is located behind the mill building. Each batch of cider contains a mixture of apple varieties—some tart, some sweet. Fifty percent of the apples used are grown at Thompson’s, the rest come from other local orchards. One of the antique cider presses

(also called mills) on display. Another type of antique cider press. Let’s make some cider! First step, put apples in the hopper that’s connected to the washer that cleans them. When the apples come out they’re given a final spray and any twigs or

leaves are removed. The apples on a conveyor belt, headed for the machine that will grind them up into what’s called mash. That’s owner Geoff Thompson on the right. Next, the mash is sprayed into a filter blanket, laid into a frame. When the blanket

is full the corners are folded over and the frame is removed. A sheet of wooden slats is placed over the blanket full of mash and the process is repeated. When all the blankets are full, they’re pulled under the hydraulic press. Here comes the cider,

squeezed out of the mash by the tremendous pressure of the press. Visitors can sample the cider, right out of the press. The leftover mash is used as compost or fed to pigs. The Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills uses mash from Thompson’s Cider

Mill. In the 18th and 19th centuries, what we refer to as cider was “apple juice” and “cider” was the alcoholic drink we call “hard cider.” See A History of Agriculture in the State of New York by Ulysses P. Hedrick. Hedrick says cider “was more

often quoted as an exchange commodity than apples or potatoes or any other fruit or vegetable . . . Apple juice and cider were legal tender for the cobbler, the tailor, the lawyer, the doctor, and there is at least one record . . . of a farmer’s

paying for his daughter’s schooling with cider.” Conklin’s operation was described by James Stuart, who travelled north through the Croton area with his wife in September-October, 1829. After spending the night at “a second rate hotel, near the

village of Croton, kept by civil people of the name of Macleod,” they head to Verplanck and along the way he includes this passage: “One of the largest orchards in this country . . . [belongs] to Mr. Conklin. It consists of forty acres. All the trees

are raised by himself from the seed, and grafted. He sells his Newton pippins and Russell pippins, and manufactures the remainder of his apples into cider. The cider-mill is eighty feet long, and there are two cellars of equal length. The barrel of

cider contains from twenty-eight to thirty-two gallons; the price of each barrel is from three to seven dollars, according to the quality.” This appears in volume one of Stuart’s two-volume work, Three Years in North America , which was published in

1833. According to Bauman Rare Books, his book is important because of its “compelling descriptions of Niagara Falls, the election of Andrew Jackson, the brutality of slavery, and the majesty of the West.” Both volumes are available free on Google

Books. Here’s a link to volume one . ↩ Conklin may be the same person referred to by Pierre Van Cortlandt in a letter dated January 27, 1787. Van Cortlandt wrote that “Joseph Conklyn” wanted to rent “the Ridge farm Adjoyning the Paper Mill Farm” and

that Conklyn “has Way Withal to Improve the farm; he is to make an Orchard of 150 trees, to be planted within four years.” See the Van Cortlandt Family Papers , vol. IV, p. 350. Share this: Print (Opens in new window) Print Email a link to a friend

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LinkedIn Like Loading... Related Tagged cider cider mill Joseph Conklyn Pierre Van Cortlandt Published October 27, 2013 October 19, 2014