B. F. Clyde’s Cider Mill Declared Engineering Landmark

The lack of many traction engines in New England was mostly
because there were not many huge tracts of land to till that would
require a traction engine. Even the largest farms used mostly draft
animals until the advent of the powered tractor. There were many
portable engines, but these were used mostly in large remote wood
lots where there was no water power. As water power was plentiful
in most villages, there were usually two or three water-powered saw
mills. Where there was no water power, steam was the thing.

Apple cider dates back to the earliest days of English
settlement in the thirteen colonies. Colonists brought seed from
England to plant apple trees. Later, seedlings and whole trees were
transported to the colonies by wealthier colonists who established
large apple orchards. Although apples were a staple in the meager
diet of early settlers, the motivation for raising apple trees was
equally for the purpose of making cider. Cider was easy to make,
stored well, and provided a mildly alcoholic drink for all to
enjoy. Until approximately seventy years ago, cider was what is now
referred to as ‘hard cider.’

While the processing of apple cider has changed over the
centuries, B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill continues to produce cider
as it was produced over a century ago. From the earliest crude
stone crushed apples to the modern automated hydraulic presses,
engineers have devised more efficient means to press apples. The
screw press in use at the Mill represents the peak of screw press
design used before the hydraulic press became prevalent.

Although cider continued to be produced on individual farms for
private use, the centrally located mill became more popular. In
1881 Mr. Benjamin F. Clyde, my grandfather, decided to produce and
sell cider in Mystic, now referred to as Old Mystic. For the first
few years, he pressed his apples at local mills. Eventually, he
bought a press and installed it in rented space in the corner of a
local saw mill. He received power for his press from the saw
mill’s line shaft.

In 1896, Mr. Clyde decided to expand his business by purchasing
his own mill and press. Later that year, he purchased a No. 2, four
screw press from the Boomer and Boschert Press Company of Syracuse,
New York. From Boomer and Boschert, he also bought the required
accessories: an apple grater, an apple elevator, and a cider pump.
As was their practice, Boomer and Boschert also furnished the plans
for the building.

 1. Large spur gear on screws.
 2. Right hand thread screw nut
 3. Left hand thread screw nut.
 4. Head socket washer.
 5. Cover for same
 6. Spur pinion sliding on upright.
 7. Yoke.
 8. Split collar on pinion.
 9. Brass washer between split collar and yolk.
10. Large bevel gear.
11. Bearing for same
12. Bevel pinion.
13. Shaft boxes.
14. Cap for same.
15. Large spur driving gear.
16. Pinion to match.
17. Medium spur gear, upper shaft.
18. Pinion to match, lower shaft.
19. Large center spur gear.
20. Long center pinion.
21. Top casting on screws.
22. Lever quadrant.
23. Double lever quadrant.
24. Lower screw washer.
25. Pulley, fast to shaft.
26. Pulley fast to long center pinion.
27. Pulley loose on shaft.
28. Bronze piano concave washer under nut.
29. Fork for shifting lower shaft.30. Yoke box.
31. Screw – right hand thread.
32. Screw – left hand thread.
33. Upper shaft.
34. Lower shaft.
35. Upright end shaft.
36. Rod for shifting lower shaft.
37. Collar on end shafts
37. Finger for shifter
38. Loop for shifter.
39. Bracket for self-shifter
40. Bell crank for self-shifter.
41. Shifter bar bracket.

From his experiences as a teamster, Mr. Clyde decided to use a
10 HP Olney and Warren center crank steam engine and boiler as the
power source. Local craftsmen constructed the building, and Boomer
and Boschert sent technicians to oversee the machinery
installation.

The main elements of the machinery currently operating the mill
are an Ames 15 HP steam engine with Gardener governor, manufactured
circa 1895 1900, which drives the line shaft at 250 rpm, and a
Boomer & Boschert No. 2 cider press. The press, a model which
uses all steel construction, was considered the finest screw cider
press ever made. In the twentieth century, the hydraulic press came
into widespread use. Thus, B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is
representative of the final and finest mills using the mechanical
screw press. It has four 2′ x 3 threads per inch power screws
capable of being driven at three different speeds. The apples,
after being crushed, cut, grated or ground into what is known as
‘Pomace,’ are placed under the press on 4′ 10′
square racks with 96′ square press cloths. Maximum press stroke
is 48′. Maximum press capacity is approximately 1,000 bushels
per day. or 3,500 gallons.

We have been active in the cider business for 113 years. We are
open from the last weekend in September until the day before
Thanksgiving; steam is carried around the clock.

The process of making cider is as follows: Apples are placed in
the storage structure. From storage, apples are washed and
transported up to the second story of the mill building, where they
are dropped into the grater. The grater turns apples into pomace,
which falls through a telescoping chute to the first layer of the
‘cheese’ on the press table. A cheese is made using slatted
wooden racks, a wooden form, and press cloths. Pomace is placed on
top of a press cloth within a form on the rack. When the form is
filled, the corners of the press cloth are folded over the pomace,
the form is removed, and a new rack is placed on top of the pomace
filled cloth to repeat the step. The series of racks and pomace in
the press cloths form the cheese.

After the cheese has been prepared, the table is rotated 180
degrees to place the end with the cheese under the press. Each end
of the table is capable of carrying a cheese. Thus, while the first
cheese is being pressed, another cheese can be laid up. This
feature minimizes the down time of the press.

At Clyde’s, cider is made at least once a day, but on no
particular schedule. On Saturday and Sunday the mill runs about
steady all day. We do make on a schedule at one and three
o’clock on weekends, but usually we run almost non-stop. The
mill is open every day during the season, and all are welcome to
come in; if we are making then you are welcome to watch. There is
no admission charged.

Remember that we are the last of the real old time cider mills
in New England still run by steam. We are a business, not just
something we start up a couple of times a year to entertain folks.
We have no ‘meet the author’ days, no flower shows, no art
shows, just a real honest-to-goodness old time cider mill.

Editor’s Note: Additional information for this article was
gathered from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’
program for the October 29, 1995 dedication of B. F. Clyde’s
Cider Mill as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark,
and is used with ASME permission. Photographs taken by Glenn
Melnyk.