Kimlin Cider Mill

Lore & Background

The Kimlin Cider Mill began as a mid-19th century barn on a larger agricultural property owned and operated by the Kimlin family since they first came to the United States from Ireland in the early 1850s. A commercial cider business operated at this site in the 1880s. Between 1925 and 1935, Ralph R. Kimlin expanded the old barn to include not only the cider mill but also a public attraction featuring a cafe and a museum room. He greatly altered the original form and composition of the barn, filling the museum room with old farm tools, wildlife taxidermy, Native American artifacts, and other curiosities.

For most of the 20th century, the mill operated as a producer and retail outlet for apple cider. Its popularity with local residents, particularly schoolchildren and students from nearby Vassar College, prompted Ralph R. Kimlin to embellish the exterior of the building and create indoor spaces for customer enjoyment. The surrounding property became a park, and Mr. Kimlin raised a sizable flock of sheep in the pasture behind the mill, hoping to preserve the traditional farm life that was already beginning to disappear.

The Kimlin Cider Mill closed its doors in 1990. A developer purchased much of the Kimlin family property for redevelopment with houses.

In May 2000, a grassroots citizens' group called Cider Mill Friends of Open Space & Historic Preservation, Inc. formed to save the building and preserve its history; it became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in January 2001. On February 20, 2008, the cider mill building and surrounding two acres were purchased by Cider Mill Friends. In 2018, an additional one acre of undeveloped former Kimlin land immediately to the north was acquired through the Dutchess County Partnership for Manageable Growth Program in partnership with the Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust and Cider Mill Friends.

Reader's Guide

The Kimlin Cider Mill's significance lies in its layered history as a family-run agricultural enterprise, a community gathering place, and a preserved historic landmark. From its origins as a mid-19th century barn on a Kimlin family farm, it became a commercial cider business in the 1880s and later, under Ralph R. Kimlin, a multifaceted attraction with a cafe and museum. Its popularity with local residents and Vassar College students shaped its evolution, and the mill operated for most of the 20th century as a producer and retail outlet for apple cider.

After closing in 1990 and facing redevelopment, the mill was saved by the Cider Mill Friends of Open Space & Historic Preservation, Inc., a grassroots nonprofit formed in 2000. Through their efforts, the building and surrounding two acres were purchased in 2008, and an additional acre was acquired in 2018. The organization's mission—to protect open space and historic resources in the Town of Poughkeepsie through restoration, advocacy, and land acquisition—resulted in the mill being listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places and designated a Town of Poughkeepsie Historic Landmark. The mill's legacy endures as a tangible link to the region's agricultural past and a testament to community-driven preservation.