Sunday October 19th The Chatham Historical Society presents "Chatham History Festival" in East Hampton

The event will feature an exhibit and the history of the the witch hazel industry and the East Haddam, formally Chatham, of the American Distilling Co.

Witch hazel also known as winterbloom, snapping hazel and spotted alder, is indigenous to the woodland areas of the Northeastern United States. This unique plant bears delicate golden flowers and seed capsules in late autumn, after the leaves have fallen. The seed capsules mature one year later, at which time they burst open and scatter the seeds away from the mother plant to ensure propagation of the next generation. Witch Hazel, a standard of identity set forth by the FDA in the USP, is found in various cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations in medicine cabinets throughout the world. It was first prepared for commercial distribution by the Dickinson family in Essex Connecticut, who later became involved with American Distilling for bulk and retail production.

The American Distilling Company’s history includes decades of consistent quality production and innovation of natural Witch Hazel Extracts for the health, beauty, personal care and pharmaceutical industries. The history of our company dates back to the mid 1800’s, its establishment became the cornerstone of the Witch Hazel industry and ultimately a part of Americana.

http://www.whazel.com/

For more “Chatham” History visit: http://dunhamwilcox.net/town_hist/chatham_1884_hist.htm