Colchester’s Tobacco Farming and Cigar Manufacturing
In 1845 cigar tobacco was first introduced in Onondaga County and elsewhere in New York, including Colchester. Almost every man smoked cigars, the Chemung County Historical Society Museum’s, The Golden Age of the Cigar and the Cigar Box, 1880-1920, states “In the forty years encompassing the Golden Age, American men smoked three hundred billion cigars.”
After the 1842 fire in the cigar factory district in Hamburg and the 1848 German “March Revolution” large numbers of experienced owners, managers and cigar rollers moved to New York and established cigar factories. One of the German immigrant cigar makers that moved to Colchester around 1850 was Adam Heckroth. He was a small manufacturer of cigars; his brand was called North End. He moved his company to Middletown in 1890.
Another Colchester cigar maker was William Stamm. Stamm, the son of a German immigrant, was born in New York City and came to Downsville in 1875 opening a cigar factory. This factory operated until the factory was expanded and moved to Middletown in 1890.
William R. Wright was born in Downsville in 1859, learning the cigar maker’s trade by apprenticing with the Rothensies and Meinhold factory. He later began his own cigar factory, starting with only three employees but as his brand “Golden Gem” became popular the factory expanded. Wright also opened a very successful general grocery store in Downsville.
The most prominent cigar maker in Colchester was David Rothensies. Rothensies emigrated from Germany to the U.S. in 1855. In 1864 he opened a dry and fancy goods store in Downsville which included a cigar shop. He operated this store until 1875 when he sold the dry goods stock and opened a cigar factory. He grew tobacco for that factory on the Downsville Cable Flats on Back River Road. He had several drying barns at that location and across the road on the Purdy property. The Downsville News, May 17, 1883, reported “Rothensies & Meinhold, cigar manufacturers, turn out from 800,000 to 1,000,000 cigars per year. They raise considerable tobacco and are preparing for a larger amount this year than usual. They have one large house for curing purposes and will put up another on the Purdy place.” His brand Way Up became very popular and he was the first of the Downsville cigar manufactures to expand his business into Orange County, moving to Middletown in 1889.
In addition to the Way Up and Pride of Delaware brands, Rothensies had a line of five cent cigars under the brands: Druggist Delight, Out Post, Diamond Chief, The Union, and The Star. He also had two, ten cent cigars marketed to first class hotels and dealers under the brands Rothensies Bouquet and Luxury Row.
Colchester Historical Society 