Lyons Peppermint industry</b>

History - Lyons

Lyons Peppermint industry
By Richard Kelley
Courier-Gazette, January 2002

For over 140 years, the purest, best tasting peppermint oil in the World was processed and sold by the H. G. Hotchkiss Essential Oil Company of Lyons, N.Y. In 1828, brothers Hiram and Leman Hotchkiss opened and ran a general store in Phelps, N.Y. They also were in the milling business, operating mills in Seneca Falls and Phelps. One day a peddler, Arch Burnett, of Junius, discovered mint growing wild in the area. He distilled some mint oil and offered it to Hiram and Leman for merchandise from their store. Soon, area farmers started cultivating the mint plants, extracting mint oil, and trading it for merchandise in the Hotchkiss store. The mint oil was stockpiled until 1200 lbs. was accumulated. In 1837, Hiram traveled on the Erie Canal to New York City, in an attempt to market the mint oil. As most of the mint oils came from Europe at the time, brokers refused to purchase domestic mint oil from Hiram. After all, how could domestic mint oil compete with the old standard European mint oils? Hiram returned to Phelps, and samples of mint oil were sent to Hamburg, Germany, the main distribution center for mint oils. Chemists tested and declared Hotchkiss peppermint oil the purest and best tasting in the World. News spread fast and in 1838, Hiram and Leman gave up their other business interests to concentrate exclusively on peppermint and other essential oils.

The H. G. Hotchkiss Essential Oil Company was founded in Phelps, N.Y., in 1839. In 1841, the company moved to Lyons, N.Y., to be close to the Erie Canal for shipping products and transportation. As orders poured in and their fame spread, Hiram Gilbert Hotchkiss was revered as the 'Father of the Peppermint Oil Industry', and as the 'Peppermint King'. Mint became the biggest cash crop in Wayne County. H. G. Hotchkiss and area farmers grew a variety of mint plants including peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, tansy, sassafras, penyroyal, and wormwood. Hotchkiss essential oils were to win seventeen Prize Medals at World Expositions, starting in London in 1851 to Chicago in 1893. H. G. Hotchkiss established prime markets here in the United States, and in Europe, Russia, Japan, Egypt, and Chili. The company name would change to H. G. Hotchkiss International Prize Medal Essential Oil Company.

In 1855, there was strife between Hiram and Leman. Leman returned to Phelps, N.Y., formed his own company, and competed with Hiram. Leman launched a company that boasted European and American World Exposition prize medal mint oils that eventually would win five medals internationally: 1862 - New York City; 1867 - Paris; 1873 - Hamburg; 1876 - Philadelphia; 1878 - Paris.

Leman also was a banker and exchange broker in Phelps. In 1867, he built the Phelps Hotel. He owned a main interest in the early Clifton Springs 'Air Cure'. Leman Beecher Hotchkiss died in 1884.

Hiram also established a private bank in Lyons, the Planters Bank, and ran a private bank under the name H. G. Hotchkiss Co. The H. G. Hotchkiss Essential Oil Company made Lyons, N.Y. the Peppermint Capital of the World. Hiram established an international market for essential oils, gaining the respect of customers and leaders of nations. Hiram died in 1897.

Peppermint became a tradition in the Hotchkiss family, as Hiram's sons Calvin and Hiram Gilbert (2nd) were Presidents of the company from 1897-1920s. From 1920s-1960s, Hiram Gilbert (3rd) was President, followed by his daughter, Anne Dickerson Hotchkiss, President from 1963-1982.

In 1982, the company was sold to the Wm. Leman Company of Bremen, Indiana. They operated the company in Lyons until 1990, shifting operations to Bremen. Anne Dickerson Hotchkiss retired in 1984. In 1987, the Hotchkiss Building was named to the National Register of Historic Places. The Hotchkiss Building is the only building of its kind (mint industry) on the National Register of Historic Places, in the United States. In 1991, Anne donated the building to Wayne County. Our annual celebration, 'PEPPERMINT DAYS', is a reminder of our mint heritage in Lyons, N. Y.

For more information on the mint industry in America, look at web site www.mintstills.com

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