DICKINSON
...from UConn's Dodd Research Center
The practice of steeping the twigs and leaves of the witch hazel plant originated with Connecticut's Native American population. Throughout colonial times, and well into the 1880s, white Americans adopted the practice, producing a mild astringent which was used as a family remedy for a variety of minor ills. Commercially, however, little profit was made from witch hazel due to the product's short shelf life.
The first person to harness the commercial potential of witch hazel was Dr. Alvin F. Whittemore. In the early 1860s, Dr. Whittemore opened the first drug store in Essex, CT, in which he also manufactured and sold witch hazel extract. The secret to the doctor's success was that by adding alcohol, he preserved the witch hazel, vastly increased the product's shelf life. For the remainder of the decade, witch hazel continued to be produced by an ever changing consortium of partners. By 1870, these partnerships had been consolidated under one person, the Rev. Thomas N. Dickinson.
For the next 17 years, Rev. Dickinson expanded the company's operations. Technical innovations led to the increased harvesting of the witch hazel plant, allowing for the expansion of several new mills and distilleries and it was during this period that the wholesale trade of witch hazel began. By 1875, the company had facilities in Middletown, Durham, Guilford, Higganam, as well as the headquarters in Essex.
In 1875, a fundamental shift in the company occurred. In that year, the Rev. Dickinson sold his interest in the company to his son, Edward E. Dickinson, Sr. and the company came to be known as E.E. Dickinson & Co. Under the new leadership the company flourished as production grew and many new facilities were constructed. More importantly, Edward's attention to manufacturing and distribution succeeded in creating a world wide demand for the product and by the end of his tenure, E.E. Dickinson & Company produced half of the world's supply of witch hazel. In 1929, due to a severe illness, Dickinson turned the company over to his son, E.E. Dickinson, Jr., he died the following year in a Boston Hospital.
Control of the company remained a family matter for decades. E.E. Dickinson, Jr. captained the company through the turbulent years of the Great Depression and WWII and was followed by his son, E.E. Dickinson, III, the fourth generation to lead the company. Indeed, relatives ran the company until its sale in 1983.
Its heyday long past, the family sold the E.E. Dickinson & Co. to a group of investors in 1983. Two years later, the company was sold again, this time to the German pharmaceutical concern, Merz Inc., who performed painful but necessary downsizing. In 1995, Merz announced plans to move all operations to North Carolina, where they had other production facilities. Today the only portion of the E.E. Dickinson & Company remaining in Connecticut is the actual distillation of witch hazel.
THAYER
...from the Thayer website
In 1847, Henry Thayer M.D., opened a laboratory on Main Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts to produce his newly developed line of herbal extracts for sale to the medical profession. Born in 1828, into one of Massachusetts' founding families, he was trained in the medical arts of his day by his physician father. His method produced, for the first time, standardized strengths, enabling physicians to regulate dosages accurately. The company, named Henry Thayer & Company, prospered and broadened its line of products and has been described as the largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in America at the time of the Civil War.
In 1875, the company published "Descriptive Catalogue of Fluid and Solid Extracts in Vacuo" listing over 800 of its products: herbal based, presented in the forms of tinctures, infusions, syrups, poultices and wines. Prominent among these products was a Fluid Extract of Witch Hazel, listed as a "Tonic, astringent, and sedative; useful in checking hemorrhages and excessive discharges." The final pages show sugar-coated pills, a physician's dose list, apothecary's tables, a diet for invalids, and some diagnosis-related formulas including numerous combinations for cough remedies, a "Lotion for Humors and Eruptions", "Hair Restorative", and "Effervescent Lemonade Without a Machine."
After Dr. Thayer died in 1902, ownership of the business passed to his great niece, Mrs. Joseph Sturdevant. The nature of the business changed from emphasis on extracts of herbs to the preparation and sale of compound formulas marketed to the public through drug stores as "patent" medicines. Included were a line of 9 children's remedies, marketed under the brand name "Tots", a pile ointment, and a line of lozenges, including Slippery Elm Lozenges.
In 1947, Chase, Storrow Co. of Boston, a partnership of former Harvard roommates and recent Navy veterans, bought the company from Mrs. Joseph Sturdevant. A vigorous program of sales and advertising was begun based on a strategy of first increasing sales in New England, to be followed by expansion west of the Hudson River. The next decade saw distribution of the lozenges in the U.S. and Canada in independent drug stores and natural product stores, and the addition of related items, Cough Syrup, Nose Drops, Cold Sore Balm, and Coughmasters™. In 1989, the decision was made to add a line of Witch Hazel products for sale in the health food trade, with the addition of Aloe Vera to not only soothe and clean skin but soften as well.
In 1999 the company was sold to Karen Clarke, who for five years had served as General Manager. The Thayers family-business tradition was carried forward yet again in 2003, when Karen's son, John Gehr, came aboard as Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Business Development.
...from UConn's Dodd Research Center
The practice of steeping the twigs and leaves of the witch hazel plant originated with Connecticut's Native American population. Throughout colonial times, and well into the 1880s, white Americans adopted the practice, producing a mild astringent which was used as a family remedy for a variety of minor ills. Commercially, however, little profit was made from witch hazel due to the product's short shelf life.
The first person to harness the commercial potential of witch hazel was Dr. Alvin F. Whittemore. In the early 1860s, Dr. Whittemore opened the first drug store in Essex, CT, in which he also manufactured and sold witch hazel extract. The secret to the doctor's success was that by adding alcohol, he preserved the witch hazel, vastly increased the product's shelf life. For the remainder of the decade, witch hazel continued to be produced by an ever changing consortium of partners. By 1870, these partnerships had been consolidated under one person, the Rev. Thomas N. Dickinson.
For the next 17 years, Rev. Dickinson expanded the company's operations. Technical innovations led to the increased harvesting of the witch hazel plant, allowing for the expansion of several new mills and distilleries and it was during this period that the wholesale trade of witch hazel began. By 1875, the company had facilities in Middletown, Durham, Guilford, Higganam, as well as the headquarters in Essex.
In 1875, a fundamental shift in the company occurred. In that year, the Rev. Dickinson sold his interest in the company to his son, Edward E. Dickinson, Sr. and the company came to be known as E.E. Dickinson & Co. Under the new leadership the company flourished as production grew and many new facilities were constructed. More importantly, Edward's attention to manufacturing and distribution succeeded in creating a world wide demand for the product and by the end of his tenure, E.E. Dickinson & Company produced half of the world's supply of witch hazel. In 1929, due to a severe illness, Dickinson turned the company over to his son, E.E. Dickinson, Jr., he died the following year in a Boston Hospital.
Control of the company remained a family matter for decades. E.E. Dickinson, Jr. captained the company through the turbulent years of the Great Depression and WWII and was followed by his son, E.E. Dickinson, III, the fourth generation to lead the company. Indeed, relatives ran the company until its sale in 1983.
Its heyday long past, the family sold the E.E. Dickinson & Co. to a group of investors in 1983. Two years later, the company was sold again, this time to the German pharmaceutical concern, Merz Inc., who performed painful but necessary downsizing. In 1995, Merz announced plans to move all operations to North Carolina, where they had other production facilities. Today the only portion of the E.E. Dickinson & Company remaining in Connecticut is the actual distillation of witch hazel.
THAYER
...from the Thayer website
In 1847, Henry Thayer M.D., opened a laboratory on Main Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts to produce his newly developed line of herbal extracts for sale to the medical profession. Born in 1828, into one of Massachusetts' founding families, he was trained in the medical arts of his day by his physician father. His method produced, for the first time, standardized strengths, enabling physicians to regulate dosages accurately. The company, named Henry Thayer & Company, prospered and broadened its line of products and has been described as the largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in America at the time of the Civil War.
In 1875, the company published "Descriptive Catalogue of Fluid and Solid Extracts in Vacuo" listing over 800 of its products: herbal based, presented in the forms of tinctures, infusions, syrups, poultices and wines. Prominent among these products was a Fluid Extract of Witch Hazel, listed as a "Tonic, astringent, and sedative; useful in checking hemorrhages and excessive discharges." The final pages show sugar-coated pills, a physician's dose list, apothecary's tables, a diet for invalids, and some diagnosis-related formulas including numerous combinations for cough remedies, a "Lotion for Humors and Eruptions", "Hair Restorative", and "Effervescent Lemonade Without a Machine."
After Dr. Thayer died in 1902, ownership of the business passed to his great niece, Mrs. Joseph Sturdevant. The nature of the business changed from emphasis on extracts of herbs to the preparation and sale of compound formulas marketed to the public through drug stores as "patent" medicines. Included were a line of 9 children's remedies, marketed under the brand name "Tots", a pile ointment, and a line of lozenges, including Slippery Elm Lozenges.
In 1947, Chase, Storrow Co. of Boston, a partnership of former Harvard roommates and recent Navy veterans, bought the company from Mrs. Joseph Sturdevant. A vigorous program of sales and advertising was begun based on a strategy of first increasing sales in New England, to be followed by expansion west of the Hudson River. The next decade saw distribution of the lozenges in the U.S. and Canada in independent drug stores and natural product stores, and the addition of related items, Cough Syrup, Nose Drops, Cold Sore Balm, and Coughmasters™. In 1989, the decision was made to add a line of Witch Hazel products for sale in the health food trade, with the addition of Aloe Vera to not only soothe and clean skin but soften as well.
In 1999 the company was sold to Karen Clarke, who for five years had served as General Manager. The Thayers family-business tradition was carried forward yet again in 2003, when Karen's son, John Gehr, came aboard as Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Business Development.
Last edited:
