ABOUT
US
In the Beginning
Hergott Cider Mill is
located on the original property purchased by Antoni Herrgott in the early
1800's. The land was part of the German Company Tract.
Antoni's grandsons,
Jacob and Henry, moved to Mildmay and began the "Herrgott Bros. Mfg".
They built cider presses and the "Lyon"
threshing machines. Henry later moved to St. Clements and began making the
"Herrgott" threshing machines. The Herrgott family seems to have been
gifted with the talent of entrepreneurship. Even today the business section of
many phone books reveals companies with the Her(r)gott name.
What’s In a Name?
Throughout the years,
some of the Herrgott families have changed the spelling of their name. This was
the case with Gordon. When the Land Deed was transferred into his name,
Gordon's signature was "Gordon Herrgott". Other documents, however,
show his name as "Hergott". In
conversation with many people of German descent, it appears that many changed
the spelling of their name in response to the anti-German feelings during the
First and Second World Wars. Others
attribute the changes to ease of spelling.
Others don’t know.
Hergott Cider Mill
Although the
Hergott's were farmers, Gordon Hergott started the cider making in Waterloo County, now The Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in 1929. He built his
first cider press at the age of 17.
The business began
with Gordon pressing cider for himself and his neighbours. They would bring
barrels, milk cans, jugs and whatever they had to take home their cider. This
was a very popular occurrence, since most people had their own apple and pear
trees. Since this little press took 3 hours to press one 45-gallon barrel
[approximately 205 litres], Gordon realized by 1932 that he needed to make a
bigger press. It took 2 years to design and build the next press.
In 1934, Gordon had
it completed and ready for work. This press operated until 1996. It now makes cider 1 day a year during our Applefest event.
A new press was
purchased by Joe Hergott, Gordon's younger son, in 1997. Joe purchased a
bagging machine from a dairy and began putting cider into bags. Today, the
business has expanded to include tours.
Growing Through the Years
Over 20 years ago,
the first tours began. Our first tour was booked with a great deal of
reluctance. A teacher, who called to
book a tour for the cider mill, refused to be turned down, insisting that we
had something to offer. Her persistence
caused a hasty program to be put together by Gerrie Hergott, Joe’s wife. Since she is a certified teacher and with the
encouragement of the teacher on the other end of the phone, a tour was
arranged. That year there were 5 classes. Tours were conducted outside and were
free.
In about 1998, we
began our honey bee tours. Children are
able to see live honey bees safely inside a room that contains 2 observation
hives.
Because of constant
inquiries about tours for older students and Life Skills classes, in 2005 we
introduced our new tour call “The Cider-making Experience”. This is a hands-on tour that allows students
to assist in making and bagging fresh cider. We have extended this experience on Saturdays
for families interested in doing educational activities with their children.
We have between 5000
and 7000 children visiting with their classes each year. These figures do not
include teachers, parents and adult tours. All of our class tours fit into the
Ontario Curriculum Guidelines. See TOURS for information about how you can participate in
our tours.
In 2003, we began
making apple butter, apple sauce, apple syrup, pear syrup, pumpkin sauce, and
pear sauce. They are for sale in our STORE. If you have your own apple and/or pear trees, we
will process them into these products for you or into your very own
unpasteurized cider, bagged ready for your freezer.
An Invitation
Please call us at 519-885-2306 to find out current store
times or to book your tour.
