An historian asks, “What happened on a particular day – a battle? The death of a king?”

The social historian asks, “What did people do on that day – what did they wear? What did they eat?”

Today we will answer the question, “What did people drink in Bennington?” We know that people were living within the boundaries of the present town as early as 1782, so we will take that as a starting place. My references for this foray into the past include: Tea With Jane Austin; the two Town histories and Colonial Spirits.

>>“Adam’s Ale”, as water has been called, was not uncommon as a beverage. Living on the river made fresh water very accessible. The hill farms had to rely on dug wells, but the water in town was good to drink. It is popularly said that Colonial-era people drank beer because the water was unhealthy. That was true in European cities, but not in early small-town New England, until industrial pollution made the water unsafe.

>>Tea from England was expensive and had been a bone of contention during the revolutionary war, so it is unlikely that early residents of Bennington drank much tea. Tea leaves were expensive, so they would have been steeped over and over to wring all the flavor from them. The alter-natives were herbal teas from such sources as raspberry leaves or bergamot. These were considered inferior but patriotic. Herbal teas were also used as medicines. Tea also found its way into drinks that packed a bigger punch, as we will see later.

>>Coffee would have made its way into local stores by mid-1800.

>>Sumac ‘Lemonade’ was made from the red clusters found on Staghorn and Smooth Sumac in late Summer. Soaked in hot water, then strained, the tart liquid was sweetened with honey or maple syrup to make a pleasant beverage. This knowledge came from the Indigenous People of the area.

>>For the farmer or laborer toiling in the hot sun, Switchel was considered the best thirst-quencher. Made of water sweetened with molasses or honey, the most important ingredient was cider vinegar or sometimes rum. Pitchers of cool switchel were a boon to the hay-making crew. 

>>In Autumn, apples would be pressed into cider. While the season lasted, cider was a delightful drink, just as it is now.

The next installment of the Bennington NH Historical Society Blog will be posted on October 14, 2024. If you click the Subscribe button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month – for free.