Connecticut
B.F. Clyde’s Steam-Powered Cider Mill
November 2017
B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill in Old Mystic, Connecticut, began with Benjamin F. Clyde’s cider business in 1881. Clyde initially used local mills before purchasing his own mill in 1897. The steam-powered equipment installed for the 1898 season included an apple grater, elevator, cider pump, and three-speed steel screw press manufactured by Boomer & Boschert of Syracuse, New York. The site is recognized as the oldest operating steam-powered cider mill in the United States.
The 2017 photographs document the mill’s traditional pressing process. Apples are ground into pomace, distributed in cloth-lined layers, and stacked beneath the screw press. Steam power drives the machinery as increasing pressure extracts juice from the apple pulp.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers designated B.F. Clyde’s a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994, recognizing it as a rare surviving example of a once-common rural industry. The family-owned mill continues to operate seasonally, producing sweet cider, hard cider, apple wines, and cider doughnuts.
