By Florence Goodman

Since last month's article dealt with Wolcott Road in the 1930s, I wanted to continue with another interesting story about an old mill that was located on Wolcott Road where Samson's Machine is found today, MacCormack's Cider Mill. I introduced this history in April 2012 and added to it in 2020, but this interesting story should be shared once again.

Starting in the early 1800s the Mad River provided waterpower to several mills from Center Street to Nichols Road. The parking lot of Pat's IGA along Wolcott Road was once a beautiful mill pond and Pritchard's Sawmill was built across the street on the falls and the rock formations on Center Street. Further down the river behind Rite Aid and Samson Machine Inc were two cider mills, Pritchard's and MacCormack's.

William MacCormack was born on February 19, 1860, in Longford, Ireland and came to this country in 1864. He was the son of John and Ann (Jones) MacCormack. When he first came to this area from New York it was to pursue his craft of carpentry, but the pay was far from adequate, so he moved his family to Wolcott in 1890 to open some type of mill. He started out chopping and carting wood and doing a variety of odd jobs when he realized that people were taking bushels of apples to Pritchard's Cider Mill to be pressed, then selling the cider for a nice profit.

It was at that point Bill MacCormack decided to try his hand at the apple cider business. He gathered 1500 bushels of apples with the intent of having Mr. Pritchard press them into cider, but to his horror the mill wasn't working that week. He had all those apples to dispose of, so he had to work fast. He purchased the old Hiram Payne mill on the Mad River, which consisted of a crude wooden press with two screws and that was the beginning of his cider business.

Working fourteen hours a day, MacCormack was able to produce five barrels of cider each day. On days when a stone was mixed in with the apples it cost him a day's work because the graters were made from wood with pegs stuck into them and the stones would destroy the grater, which he would then have to rebuild.

In time, Mr. MacCormack was able to purchase better equipment and a better mill, which greatly improved production. By then he also had his son working the mill with him. They were now able to turn out 175 barrels of cider per day, and people couldn't wait to get their hands on that delightful beverage. Cider was sold all over town and especially at the local agricultural fairs.

His land covered a huge area. Starting at the Mad River and crossing over Wolcott Road, up MacCormack Drive (named for his family) to Potuccos Ring Road to where Fire Company #3 is today. It then went down Lyman Road toward Chestnut Hill Reservoir. A good portion of this land was covered with apple orchards. His home, which is still standing today, was on the corner of Potuccos Ring and Wolcott Roads. Bill had a gasoline pump next his house that was located on Wolcott Road and an ice cream stand where Bill and Sam's Diner is today.

In May of 1954, Company #3 purchased some of the old MacCormack farmland on the corner of Lyman and Potuccos Ring Roads with an old barn still on the property. The members of Company #3 tore down the barn but left the foundation on which they built their first three-bay firehouse. You can still see some of that old foundation if you look towards the back of the firehouse from Lyman Road.

Over the years "Bill" MacCormack became known as the "Cider King" because of his expertise in growing apples and in the production of apple cider, but he was also well known as a weather prophet. People in the community respected his knowledge and expertise in both these areas. Some time in the early 1930s Bill retired and his son, Louis took over the cider mill. William MacCormack died at his Wolcott Road home on June 16, 1936, at the age of 76; he is buried in the Old Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterbury. His wife Mary died some time before him.

On April 16, 1944, the old Pritchard Sawmill, which had been a landmark on the Mad River since 1751, was destroyed by fire. The Wolcott Volunteer Fire Department was alerted of the fire at 4:30 A.M. by George Hall who lived on the west side of the Wolcott Green and could see the mill burning from his home. The fire company could not save the sawmill, which had closed in 1939 after being in operation for 80 years, but thankfully they were able to stop the fire from spreading to MacCormack's Cider Mill. If they had not been able to stop the spread of the fire, MacCormack's Mill might have closed earlier than it did. The exact date of when MacCormack's mill closed is not available.

If you enjoy hiking, you can hike south behind the back of the Rite Aid parking lot along the river and you will come across some old foundations, which were probably the remains of MacCormack's old cider mill. You can also see the remains of Pritchard's Sawmill on Center Street if you hike north from that location.

(Information from this article was taken from articles found in "The Waterbury American Newspaper" articles from Sept. 1930, March 1932, 1953, and April 16, 1944; a 2012 conversation with the late John Rossi of Long Meadow Drive and George Maher of Woodtick Road; a death certificate of William MacCormack in Town Clerk's records; and photos from Robert Kraft)

MacCormack's Cider Mill on Wolcott Road in 1896.

Bill MacCormack sampling his cider circa 1931.

MacCormack's house, gas station and ice cream stand on the corner of Potuccos Ring Road and Wolcott Road circa 1935.

Mrs. MacCormack and the Kraft boys standing in front of the MacCormack house in 1935.

The remains of the mill along the Mad River behind Rite Aid.

An old MacCormack cider jug found at the remains of the mill in the 1950s by the late John Rossi.

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