The Rochester-Avon Historical Society will present “Michigan Cider Mills” as part of its popular lunchtime Brown Bag program series on Tuesday, September 7, at 12 noon at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. Did you know Michigan is home to more than a hundred cider mills? Spread across the state, these independently owned, local businesses celebrate the best the fall harvest provides. Farm fresh produce, honey, baked goods, and old-fashioned candies are just some of the local … [Read more...]
Rochester-Avon Historical Society presents ‘Visiting Michigan Cider Mills’
August 16, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Rochester Cider Mill is Oakland Township’s Oldest Cider Location
November 9, 2019 by 3 Comments
In 1938, Frederick Sargeant and his son, George, planted an orchard on a 73-acre parcel along North Rochester Road in Oakland Township. Sargeant’s Fruit Farm sold apples, peaches, and cherries, along with tomatoes, potatoes, and flowers from a farm stand on the property. In 1948-49, they made an addition to the building to accommodate a cider mill and an additional sales room. At first, the Sargeants took their apples to Yates Cider Mill to have them pressed into cider, but then Frederick and … [Read more...]
Paint Creek Cider Mill Stands on Historical Mill Site
October 23, 2019 by 1 Comment
Paint Creek Cider Mill in Goodison is a popular stop for outdoor enthusiasts who use the Paint Creek Trail, as well as for those passersby who crave a good, cold glass of cider and a doughnut during the fall season. Although the present structure was built over the course of a decade beginning in 1958, its location has been the site of a mill for 184 years—since Michigan was a territory. Col. Needham Hemingway built the first mill on the property in 1835, and his sons, Freeman and Henry, … [Read more...]
Yates is the “Granddaddy” of Rochester Area Cider Mills
August 30, 2019 by 15 Comments
The nation was in the throes of the Civil War when William Henry Yates and his wife, Caroline, bought 80 acres of land on the Clinton River in southeastern Avon Township. It was April 1863, and the Yateses, with their nine-year-old son, Frank, made the trip to their new home in Michigan from Madison County, New York. Settling on land at what we know today as the intersection of Avon and Dequindre roads, William Yates used an existing dam on the Clinton River to power a lumber and … [Read more...]
Spring Cider at Yates Cider Mill this Friday
April 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Yates Cider Mill Announces Spring Cider Pressing Opening Day Yates Cider Mill is kicking off its Spring and Summer seasons on Friday, April 13, doors will open at 7:00 a.m. The first apples will arrive from winter cold storage next week and Yates will be pressing throughout the day on April 13. Cider will be available for purchase that day as well. Yates Cider Mill will once again be offering its famous donuts, cider, fudge and bakery favorites along with its summer ice cream features … [Read more...]
Yates, Paint Creek and Rochester Cider Mills
May 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Yates, Paint Creek and Rochester Cider Mills What’s the latest with Rochester Area cider mills? A spring pressing, a two-year extension, and year-round operations sum up the spring news at three local cider mills. Spring Apple Cider at Yates Yate’s Cider Mill offered fresh apple cider, pressed on site, for a special month-long treat to kick off the spring. Their last pressing was on Mother’s Day and cider connoisseurs will have to wait a few more months for fresh cider again. … [Read more...]
Rochester Cider Mill Still Waiting
April 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Two More Weeks The Barkham Family, owners of the Rochester Cider Mill, and their attorney, Eric Lipson, have been attending Oakland Township Board of Trustee meetings since January. Their hope is to convince the board to agree to amend a 1987 court ordered consent agreement on the operation of the property. The cider mill is residential property and falls into a void of neither being a commercially zoned business nor a working farm. The 1987 agreement limits the owners’ use of the space. … [Read more...]
