Lancaster’s Oldest Commercial Brick Building: The Hidden Story of the Demuth Snuff Mill

How a discreet three-story mill beside Trinity Lutheran powered a five-generation tobacco enterprise for more than two centuries.

Tucked beside Trinity Lutheran Church, its white tower overshadowing everything around it, stands one of Lancaster’s most overlooked historic treasures: the Demuth Snuff Mill and Cigar Manufactory. Despite its extraordinary age and importance, thousands walk within a block of it every day without realizing they are passing the oldest standing commercial brick structure in the city.

From the late 1700s until the mid-20th century, this unassuming industrial building quietly powered one of Lancaster’s longest-running family businesses. Over five generations, the Demuth family transformed a small tobacco shop into a regional brand, producing snuff and cigars from a mill that expanded and adapted with each new era. Today, the Snuff Mill remains frozen in time, a rare survivor of early American industry hidden in the heart of the city.

The story begins with Christopher Demuth (1738–1818), who opened the Demuth Tobacco Shop at 114 East King Street shortly before the American Revolution. East King Street was a prime commercial corridor, a direct route to Philadelphia and only steps from the bustling town square. The location, next to the well-frequented William Pitt Tavern, ensured a steady flow of customers and made the family operation a familiar part of early Lancaster life.

Behind the shop, on the rear of the property along what is now Mifflin Street, Demuth constructed a small mill devoted to a single product: snuff. According to the 1798 Federal Direct Tax, the structure began as a simple one-story frame building. Workers dried, ground, fermented, and stored tobacco here according to a closely guarded family recipe. Probate records list ingredients such as oil of roses, lavender, lemon, and bergamot, all used to flavor the coarse “rappee” snuff favored by local customers. In an era when cash was not always plentiful, snuff could also be traded for necessities such as oats to feed the horsepower that once powered the mill.

Around 1800, the Demuths added cigar production, a more intensive craft requiring skilled labor. As operations became increasingly complex, the family expanded the mill upward. By 1815, tax documents listed it as a two-story structure, and by the mid-19th century, a third story had been added along with horsepower to run milling machinery. Demand continued to grow, and in 1870, the family built a north wing dedicated exclusively to cigar manufacturing. During this period, the Demuth name appeared on recognizable brands such as Mia Querida, Golden Lion, and Recuerdo.

The mill continued to modernize. In 1884, the family upgraded to a Caloric steam engine. By 1917, electricity powered nearly all the equipment inside the building. The operation now functioned as a small but fully realized factory, one still run directly by members of the Demuth family.

Records and surviving equipment offer a remarkably detailed picture of life inside the mill during its busiest years. Raw tobacco entered through the basement, where booking and stripping took place. The first floor was the center of production, where workers prepared materials and tended the milling and grinding machinery. The second floor held eight cigar benches arranged in two rows, where makers worked side by side. At a large central table, the leaf “books” were sorted, and finished cigars were inspected. The third floor served as a storage and drying area and once featured a hoisting system capable of lifting hogsheads from the basement all the way to the top.

The work was disciplined and steady. Chalk writing on the walls recorded notes from employees, construction dates, and reminders not to spit on the floor. A posted wage sign listed the minimum hourly pay at seven cents. Even so, the mill remained a family-driven enterprise, with the Demuths involved in everything from recipe control to quality assurance.

Both the East King Street shop and the Snuff Mill stayed in the Demuth family for 227 years. The business passed through multiple generations, eventually reaching Ferdinand and Harry Demuth in the early 20th century. Ferdinand ran the retail shop while Harry oversaw production at the mill. After Harry’s death, his son Christopher took over, and later, Christopher’s wife Dorothea ran the shop until it was sold. For much of that time, the shop served not only as a retail space but also as a gathering spot for conversation and local news. Regular customers included figures such as General Edward Hand, Judge Jasper Yeats, and future president James Buchanan.

By the mid-20th century, however, technological change reshaped the tobacco industry. Large corporations and mechanized factories made small-scale operations less competitive. The Demuths eventually stopped milling their own snuff, though cigar production continued until around 1962 with only two craftsmen remaining. When manufacturing ended, the family used the mill as storage, but fortunately never gutted or modernized it.

When the Demuth Foundation acquired the property in 1986, they found a remarkably intact industrial space. For the next 15 years, the Foundation documented and preserved the original machinery, ledgers, equipment, and architectural features. Today, conveyors still hang from beams, worktables remain in place, and storage bins hold traces of tobacco from decades past. In many ways, the Snuff Mill looks much as it did when workers last left the building.

A 1977 Lancaster New Era article reported that a historic wooden bathtub, crafted like an oversized barrel, once sat inside the mill. Its current location is unknown, but it remains a fascinating artifact of the property’s long history.

Although not regularly open to the public, the Snuff Mill stands as a remarkably preserved fragment of early American industry. Its secluded location behind Trinity Lutheran helped protect it from demolition and redevelopment, allowing it to survive as one of Lancaster’s most significant but least recognized historic structures.

Planning Your Visit

While the Snuff Mill itself is not accessible for interior tours, you can glimpse Lancaster’s oldest commercial brick building by walking along Mifflin Street next to Trinity Lutheran Church in the 100 block of East Mifflin Street.

To explore more of the Demuth family’s legacy, visit the nearby Demuth Museum on East King Street. Founded in 1981, the museum preserves the 260-plus-year-old Demuth family properties and celebrates the life and work of Charles Demuth (1883–1935), one of America’s foremost Modernist painters. The buildings are part of a National Register Historic District and are recognized within the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program.

The museum offers exhibitions, tours, and educational programs throughout the year. To learn more about current hours and events, visit demuth.org.

Learn More

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Packed with history, local stories, and GPS locations, this book is your ticket to exploring the mysterious corners of Lancaster like never before. Whether you’re a lifelong local, a history buff, or just looking for a unique adventure, this field guide will spark your curiosity and send you exploring. Start your adventure here.

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