Page 30 - Taverns Stands in Woodstock - for Flipbook_Neat

Where the liquor came from

“Benjamin Sanderson, Arnold Smith, Daniel Ransom, Jabez Cottle, Amos Ralph, Jonathan Farnsworth, Isaac
Kendall, in fact almost every well-to-do farmer in the neighborhood, had a cider-mill, and made cider by the
scores and hundreds of barrels. Amos Ralph built a vat of immense proportions, as big as a good-sized room.
This he put into his cellar first, and stored cider in it, to be made over into brandy. Then he carried it to the dis-
tillery, and used to put into it thirty barrels a day, to be converted into cider brandy. He commonly made six
hundred barrels of this fluid in a season.” History of Woodstock

“In April, 1823, Mr. King sold Abraham Stearns and Royal Blake about one acre and a quarter of land on the
south side of the road, adjoining Mr. Chapin’s farm, having a front on the turnpike of thirteen rods, and extend-
ing up the hill some distance. Here they built the distillery-house, which is the one now occupied by Mrs. Ander-
son. Above and a little to the east of the house, and twenty rods from the road, they put up a large distillery, at
which they made great quantities of gin. The casks and barrels in which this gin was put up was manufactured by
Humphrey Miles, and were of first-class make. The distillery stood six years; then, Sunday morning, November 1,
1829, between the hours of twelve and one o’clock, it took fire and was burned to the ground.” History of Wood-
stock

“About the year 1805 a distillery was built by Henry Mower and Samuel Chandler on the ground where Mr.
Woodward’s factory now stands. This distillery worked up about 20,000 bushels of rye annually which yielded
about 2000 barrels of gin. Between the years 1820 and 1830 there were in town five distilleries in full blast. Four
of them worked up 18,180 barrels of cider annually into 1818 barrels of brandy, and one worked 9125 bushels
of grain annually into 912 barrels of gin; making a total of 2730 barrels of distilled liquor manufactured here an-
nually for several years. The cider distilleries run three months in the fall and three months in the spring, and
the grain distilleries run night and day and Sundays the year round. In 1835 there was but one distillery in town,
which run every twenty-four hours 40 barrels of cider, which made 120 gallons of brandy. It is now more than
thirty years since the last distillery ceased operations.” Spirit of the Age, July 12, 1876

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