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DICKINSON WITCH HAZEL 4 OZ BOTTLE FREE
She noted that it was run with only 75 people.Īn Essex Historical publication, The Story of Dickinson Witch Hazel in Essex, Connecticut, written by Eve Potts, paid for by Guilford Savings Bank, will be distributed free at the event and gives details about witch hazel, the Dickinson family and tells the story of the factory.įor example, it said many buildings in Essex on North Main Street are associated with the family, including most of Riverview Cemetery. “When you drive by here, you don’t see the enormity of the place,” she said. She also thinks visitors will be surprised at the size of the Dickinson Company’s campus. “It’s virtually a time capsule of industrial history from 100 years ago.”
“It was like they locked the building and walked away,” said Josefiak. The great thing about the Birch Mill was that the owners stopped using it, but left it fairly intact. The birch processing was similar to witch hazel so this particular building gives a microcosm of how the company’s production process worked, said Essex Historical Society Director Melissa A.
It was built in 1915 and used until 1926 to distill and bottle oil from Black Birch twigs. The Yellow Label Mill, focus of the celebration, was known as the Birch Mill. In this building, the company also had a cooper shop, which made the barrels for shipping witch hazel. It was originally built in 1899, with an addition built in 1907. That building is now River Valley Junction, which Valley Railroad uses as gift shop, event space and for its administrative offices. The brochure said the company distilled the bark and twigs of the witch hazel plant, which grows in swampy areas in the state, in copper stills in the building and pumped the extract underground and then into the storehouse and bottling plant on the opposite side of the tracks. One particular charming detail left intact is a tower with a weathervane in the shape of a witch, a symbol for the company.
Centerbrook Architects retained the art deco style, added in 1929, as well as incorporating artifacts from the distillery process. The program for the tour explains that the original distillery, which began operating in 1902, is now a privately-owned, mixed-use business complex called Witch Hazel Works. The railroad company stabilized the building and put on a new roof, painted and replaced windows, and the historical society refurbished signs and created panels that will tell the story of the factory.Īt the free event, there will also be a rare tour of other factory buildings, as well as music by The Occasional Jazz Ensemble, food and drink.
and tour of the Yellow Label Mill, located at the southern end of the factory site. It will include a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on the grounds of the former factory at 1 Railroad Ave. The celebration will take place from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
DICKINSON WITCH HAZEL 4 OZ BOTTLE SERIES
The improvement project was in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Essex Historical Society, which also presented a series of programs through the year on the Dickinson legacy.