Inside the stone building at 336 Mendham Road West, the work starts in the basement. Water piped in from the head race turns a turbine. The turbine turns a drive shaft that rests on what is left of the old wooden waterwheel. Shafts, pulleys and belts carry that power up to the second level and then the third, where apples ride a conveyor into a grater. The ground fruit, called pomace, drops into racks and is stacked into layers called a cheese. A trolley rolls the stack to a knuckle press or a screw press, and the juice runs into large cypress vats.
All of that machinery still works. The Ralston Cider Mill calls itself the only operational cider mill run as a privately funded museum and educational experience. The mill keeps no regular public hours, so you can't simply stop in. Getting inside this fall takes a little planning, and the season comes down to a few dated events.
A Gristmill That Became a Distillery
The building didn't start out making cider. In 1848 John Ralston Nesbitt, a grandson of John Ralston, built a gristmill beside Burnett Brook with his mother, Mary Ann Nesbitt. The Ralston Historic District runs from the mill along Mendham Road West to Ironia Road and down Roxiticus Road. The area grew up around water-powered mills on the North Branch of the Raritan River. It was first known as Roxiticus and was never recognized as a town. It once had its own Ralston Post Office and a general store at the corner of Mendham Road West and Roxiticus.
Grain milling stopped in 1904. John Nesbitt died in the mill's upper level that year, and the waterwheel was worn out. Railroads were also bringing in cheap white flour, and small local gristmills could no longer compete. In 1910 Thomas Laughlin moved his Tiger Apple Jack Distillery from Bernardsville Road into the larger Nesbitt Mill and switched it to making applejack and peach brandy. He replaced the wheel and grinding stones with the turbine that still runs the presses today.
The Apple Economy the Mill Came From
Laughlin wasn't starting a new local industry. He moved into one that was already old. According to the mill's history, New Jersey's brandy trade was more than 130 years old by the time Ralston began production. The same history gives these figures:
| Year | Where | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1830 | Morris County | 53 working brandy stills, second only to Hunterdon County |
| 1850 | Mendham | A quarter of the town's 171 farms reported income from apples |
| 1899 | New Jersey | National leader in cider production, with 23% of the U.S. total |
The 1850 figure is the one closest to home. About 43 farms in Mendham earned money from apples at a time when the town's economy ran on farming. A mill that could turn those apples into cider and then applejack sat right in the middle of that trade.
The Volstead Act ended most of it. Prohibition started in 1919, and many New Jersey distilleries closed or were taken apart. Ralston kept making applejack through Prohibition on a hidden still. The Fornaro family bought the property in 1929 and ran the mill until 1938. After that the building sat empty for decades. The roof gave way, floors collapsed, and the heavy machinery began sinking under its own weight.
Restoration started in 2004. Rondout Woodworking of Saugerties, New York, did much of the structural and machinery work. The four-foot-thick stone walls and the oak frame with its mortise-and-tenon joints are original to the 1848 building.
Why the Mill Runs on a Calendar
Because the mill is privately funded, visits are arranged around events and bookings. Small-group tours are by appointment only, with one group inside at a time. General admission is $10 per person, with a $20 minimum. The building sits on Route 24 between Mendham and Chester.
A booked tour is good for seeing the building and its history. The presses actually run on Pressing Day. The Observer-Tribune's community calendar lists Saturday, Oct. 24, as the day the mill will press apples on its historic equipment and pour fresh cider samples, with $15 tickets. The mill's homepage is currently showing its 2026 Pressing Day poster. The calendar listing gives the address as 335 Mendham Road West, but the mill's own visit page says 336. Use 336 in your GPS.
Mendham's Apple Calendar, October Through November
The mill is the main stop, but a few other events this fall fit around it. Here they are in order:
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Now through Oct. 31 | Pick-your-own apples and cider doughnuts | Riamede Farm, 122 Oakdale Road, Chester |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Pressing Day, $15 | Ralston Cider Mill, 336 Mendham Road West |
| Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. | Sip and Learn: The History of Applejack Distilling in New Jersey, 21 and over | Mendham Borough Library, 10 Hilltop Road |
| By appointment | Small-group tours, $10 per person, $20 minimum | Ralston Cider Mill |
Before the pressing. Riamede Farm lists its fall season as Sept. 20 through Oct. 31. Its fall page promotes apple picking and cider doughnuts. Patch's Oct. 1 guide to Chester-area orchards says picking runs Wednesday through Monday, with hayrides and live music on weekends. Days and hours can change late in the season, so check the farm's page before you drive out.
After the pressing. The borough library's Sip and Learn program on Nov. 11 picks up the story in the distilling room. Bob and Karen Dillon, owners of Dismal Harmony Distillery, will speak with author James Malchow, who wrote New Jersey Cider and Applejack. Guests can taste samples of Dismal Harmony's award-winning liqueurs. Copies of Malchow's book will be on sale, and the proceeds benefit the Ralston Cider Museum. Attendees must be 21 or older. Dismal Harmony's distillery and bar are at 77 Morris Street in Morristown if you want to visit after the talk.
The order works out well. You can pick apples in Chester in mid-October and watch similar fruit go through Ralston's grater on Oct. 24. Then on Nov. 11 you can hear what New Jersey's distillers made from it, with some of the book money going back to the mill.
The Barn Down the Road, Next in Line
Ralston is not the only Mendham farm building being brought back. Mendham Borough has started restoring the Cary Farm Barn, which Stephen Cary built around 1825. The Cary family kept the property for generations, and the Scott family owned it from 1977 to 2015. Patch reported on Oct. 2 that Mayor James Kelly has announced the start of construction. The borough has nearly $1.35 million in grants for the project. When the work is done, the barn will open three seasons a year as a nature center, with a viewing area over the surrounding fields. Borough officials describe it as a place that will show off Mendham's farming history and natural surroundings.
No opening date has been announced for the barn. The cider mill's next pressing is Saturday, Oct. 24.
At Jillayne Southren, we like knowing which Route 24 landmarks still work and when the public can get inside, because that history is part of what makes Mendham feel like home. If you're getting ready for your own next step here, whether you need a free home valuation or a personal consultation, we'd be glad to talk it through over a cup of fresh Ralston cider.
