From The Connecticut River Valley in Southern Vermont and New Hampshire: Historical Sketches by Lyman S. Hayes, Tuttle Co., Marble City Press, Rutland, VT., 1929, page 319:
DISTILLERIES NEAR BELLOWS FALLS WERE PLENTY IN EARLY TIMES
A century ago one of the most common varieties of business in this section of the Connecticut River valley was that of the distilleries which were scattered here and there in this vicinity. They all did a thriving business, distilling cider, perry (the juice of pears), wheat, corn, barley and oats into the various kinds of spirits then in common use.
There was a distillery in this town located near the school house in the little hamlet known as Lawrence’s MiIls, one in Saxtons River village, one just north of the village of Westminster known as the “Allbe Distillery,” and one of the largest was in the little village of South Charlestown on the east side of the highway about ten rods north of the brook, near what only a few years ago was known as the” Hooper place.” This was widely known as the “Ingersoll Distillery.”
Richardson Robertson, who died in 1905 at the age of 96 years, used to tell of his life as a boy in the old Stage House, the first hotel built in 1817 where Hotel Windham now stands. Among his reminiscences he told of a part of his duties for his father; John Robertson, who was the owner, as being each week to go to either one of these distilleries and get the week ‘s supply of yeast for the hotel bread. Sometimes he went to one and sometimes to another. He told the writer among other things, “We kept ‘Ingersoll gin’ in our bar, thinking it was much better than that made by Mr. Wells.” Ingersoll was the South Charlestown owner, and Wells was the Westminster distiller. Mr. Robertson said further [320] regarding qualities: “Nathaniel Tucker, who then owned the toll bridge, was a Dutchman and had a brother who operated a distillery in Holland. Mr. Tucker urged father to try his brother’s gin, and after a while we got a ‘pipe,’ 128 gallons. This cask was too large to get into the cellar, so it was put in the shed and we drew from it to fill the jugs in the bar. Father had never liked domestic gin to drink himself, but he liked this Holland gin very much. “
Albert M. Allbe, an attorney who died here in 1916 at the age of 94 years, used to tell of his father’s (Ellery Allbe) distillery, which was on what is known as the Watkins farm a mile north of Westminster villlage. The old dwelling on the 240-acre farm is still standing. He said, “Soon after coming to this location, the noted distillery which had been run many years at South Charlestown by G. H. Ingersoll was given up. Father thought it a good opportunity for venturing in that line of business, and erected a distillery three or four rods south of the house on lower ground. The distillery had large copper stills with ‘worms,’ six mash tubs holding thirteen barrels each, and father made large quantities of alcohol from corn and rye. His product was shipped to Boston in barrels by four-horse freight teams. These barrels were made by John Sawtelle, the Bellows Falls cooper, whose extensive shop stood between Westminster and Mill Streets, on the location now occupied by the Barry block. The alcohol made by this distillery was used in Boston to make gin and other kinds of liquors. There was then no such thing as whiskey, but there was a Holland gin which was imported, and the product of such distilleries as [321] father’s was used to make ‘American gin,’ as it was called. As the liquid in the mash tubs fermented, a froth arose which was used by all families in this vicinity for yeast, they coming long distances for it and taking it in pails. This yeast yielded a large revenue.”
An incident of the distillery at Lawrence’s Mills was connected with a man named Clark, who worked there and used to imbibe too frequently of its product. About 1810 his wife became incensed at her husband coming home intoxicated so frequently, and she went to the place one night with an axe and chopped a hole in the bottom of the large vat, letting the contents run out. The owner found fault to Clark for his wife’s acctions and he went home and took a horse-whip and gave her a severe chastisement. Tradition records that he accompanied his whipping with this expression, “Oh, dear wife, I don’t do this because I want to; I’m doing it for your own dear good.”