The Geoppler Cider and Vinegar Mill by Jeff Harrick At the intersection of Topstone Rd. and Simpaug Turnpike stands an impressive building. Once it was filled with the hustle and bustle of a productive factory. In the past, during the months of October and November, it churned with exciting activity. This enormous building is the Geoppler Cider & Vinegar Mill. The four-story building was built in 1893 by Mr. Adolf Geoppler. Apples were stored in the cupola, and an apple chute, extending from the cupola (the top of the mill) to the basement, was used to let the apples roll down to where they would be mashed. When the apples reached the bottom floor, they were dropped on to a large tray and into a huge burlap cloth. The power to grind the apples was provided by a steam boiler. A press was lowered, the juice was squeezed out of the apples, and then was stored in barrels or jugs. The apple pulp was loaded into a hand-wheeled cart and then dumped out in front of the mill. After the juice has been pressed out of the apples, some of it was stored in vats to ferment. A few months later it turned into vinegar and was sold for about 25 cents a gallon. The cider had to be kept in a warm, dry place in order for the fermentation to occur. A fifty gallon barrel of cider required about fifteen bushels of apples. They were bought from residents who owned apple trees. When asked what type of apple was used, Mrs. Geoppler replied, any kind, if it was an apple. Worms, bugs and bees, all went in, but it was fine cider. To make a barrel of cider the cost was about 2 dollars. Mr. Geoppler usually had two men who helped him in the mill. Their pay was probably only two dollars a day, but, as Mrs. Emma Geoppler said, You were just glad to have a job. The Geoppler Cider Mill was more than just a mill in the early 1900s. It was also the Post Office and RR Station, called Sanford Station named for the many families named Sanford in the area. Mr. Geoppler was the postmaster, Later the post office was renamed Topstone because the mail became mixed up with the Town of Stamford. Mrs. Geoppler recalled, My husband came down one morning to the room where the post offccie was and found that someone had broken into the mill and blown the safe open. They had grabbed the few dollars that were in the safe and most of the 2-cent stamps Mr. Geoppler had in the mill. This case was never solved and the money was never recovered. However, the safe, with a chunk blown out of the door, still remains sturdy. The mill served as a post office, until cider operations ceased in about 1940. Adolf Geoppler sold the mill in 1946, and for a time it was used as an antique shop. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sachetti renovated the mill into their home in the 1980s. historyofredding/HRReddingRemembered.htm
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 00:08:03 +0000
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