Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 55

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 55. H.G. Hotchkiss Peppermint Company. , Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 55, Lyons, New York , H.G. Hotchkiss Peppermint Company , Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Rail Road , Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal, Wayne County, New York , Enlarged Erie Canal (1840-1905) Lock E-55, located just east of Leach Street. Views at left show the lock from the West (A) and East (B)., This lock had been both lengthened and doubled as traffic on the canal increased after the initial single chambered lock was completed ca. 1847. , The bridge in the background (B) crosses the enlarged Erie at Leach street. The towpath was on the South side of the canal, which provided better passage of canal boats, as the North side of the canal often had boats being loaded or unloaded. , Today the actual locattion of Lock 55 would be just under the Wayne County Social Services buildings parking lot. , The H.G. Hotchkiss Prize Medal Essential Oil Company , The Village of Lyons Peppermint Industry , Preserving the "Flavor” of the Past , Excerpts from Chuck Lyons , Hotchkiss International Prize Medal Essential Oil Company has been processing and bottling peppermint oil at the same location-on the edge of the Erie Canal in Lyons, Wayne County-since 1839. , At one time, company founder, H.G. Hotchkiss, was called the "Peppermint King,” his great-granddaughter Anne says. The company he founded in this Upstate New York village was, at one time, responsible for about one half of the annual production of peppermint oil in the United States. The herb was grown exensively in fields around Lyons, and the canallers claimed that they could tell when they were approaching the village by the smell of peppermint in the air. , Lyons, with a population today of about four thousand people, was then, "virtually the peppenmint capital of America,” says Anne Hotchkiss. , Today, the company''s essential peppermint oil is used almost exclusively as a flavoring for candy, liqueurs, pharmaceutical products and dental supplies. An old Hotchkiss slogan clains that, "a single twenty-one-ounce bottle of the company''s oil will flavor a ton of candy." , But there are still a few people,” Anne Hotchkiss says, "who use peppermint oil as a home remedy... They say they couldn''t get through the winter without it." , The essential oil is distilled from the harvested herb with the initial distillation done near the harvesting site. (The herb must be distilled within three days of being picked.) The oil is then shipped to Lyons, where it further purified and bottled. As a rule of thumb, one acre of peppermint will produce fifty pounds of oil. , C. The Hotchkiss Essential Oils Company shipping building on the north bank of the Enlarged Erie Canal. ca. 1890, D. The Hotchkiss Essential Oils Company manufacturing building. ca. 1890. , The Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Rail , The Rochester, Syracuse and Easterm R.R. was the conception of Charles Lux of the well known Lux family of Clyde. The Lux family businesses were cooperage and coal. Charles (or "Charlie!!, as he was known to friends and associates) was a visionary who saw the incorporation of the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern R.R. on November 7, 1901. Several franchises were secured in the communities between Rochester and Syracuse. , Right. In this turn of the century postcard can be seen examples of early activity in the Village of Lyons. This was a time just before the canal seen here today was built. , 1. The H.G. Hotchkiss Essential Oils shipping facility on the Erie Canal. The rear of this building was on the canal and provided a shipping dock for finished product. Today you can still see the lower floor which was on the same level as the canal bank. 2. The Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Rail Road crossed the canal at this point heading towards Clyde. The abutments are still in place, the one on the north side has a mural, where this post card was the subject. , 3. In the background is a Line Boat being pulled by a team of three mules. Line Boats replaced the Packet Boats, when railroad transportation became faster and more popular.