In this mural Dawn Jordan depicts the “essence” of the business operations which at one time produced the world famous Hotchkiss Peppermint Oil. Included are scenes of workers harvesting a peppermint field, a distillery for processing the essential oil, and a horse-drawn cart transporting the extracted peppermint oil for bottling at the Hotchkiss Building in Lyons, New York.

Lyons and adjacent Wayne County communities flourished amidst the commercial activity emanating from the Hotchkiss headquarters on the bank of the historic Erie Canal. The H.G. Hotchkiss International Prize Medal Essential Oil Company contributed much to the local economy and surely paid many a Wayne County farmer’s mortgage. Proclaimed the purest oil in the world by German scientists during the 1800′s, Hiram Hotchkiss I became known as the Peppermint King of the World and Lyons, the Peppermint Capital.

As you view and enjoy the H.G. Hotchkiss Peppermint Mural, take notice of the cobalt blue peppermint bottle with the prize medals on the label and the four generations of Hotchkiss family members who ran the business for 149 years. Look carefully and you will see Mark DeCracker and Noel Dobbins, creators of Mural Mania, illustrated as mint farmers, with Mark’s daughter, Hannah, in the fields. “Peppermint Patty” Alena is pictured in the packet boat. The mural makes the history of this important Lyons industry come alive!

Artwork by Dawn Jordan  July 2009