Cider Barn

Small wooden cider mills were common on farms to supply cider and cider vinegar for the family and neighbours. They were often pole barns, a farm building with no foundation not built to withstand time.

Upstairs, a wooden cylinder, studded with nails, chews the apples into pulp as two workers turn the handles. The pulp travels by gravity down a tin-lined chute to the first-floor presses. The chute is then removed and screws on a block are tightened by hand to squeeze the juice from the apple pulp. The cider was then strained into wooden barrels and sealed with a bung for later consumption.