The General Store at Historic Sugartown, constructed c. 1805 by Joseph Waterman houses a wealth of items reminiscent of 19th Century life here at Sugartown. From muslin cloth and buttons to medicine and groceries, the General Store provided much-needed goods to the Sugartown community. One such product included a variety of canned goods, a product that would grow to become a staple in the American diet.

Early food preservation by canning began in 1795 with Nicolas Appert, who preserved foods in champagne bottles as a way to keep food from spoiling on long sea voyages and far-flung military campaigns. Early canning was a slow and labor intensive process- food was hand-packed into bottles, jars, and later, handmade tin cans, manually sealed or soldered shut, often with lead, and then sterilized through heat treating. Fast forward to 1812: Ryan Ayars begins preserving oysters, meats, fruits, and vegetables, which eventually leads to the opening of the first American canning factory in New York City, packaging foods in tin-plated and wrought-iron cans.

Canning foods was not the only method of preservation popular in the 1800’s. Invention of the Mason Jar and Ball glass jars also contributed to a rise in preserving and jarring food at home.

Throughout the latter half of the 19th Century, canned and preserved foods began to spread far and wide- fueled by the need for food that would not spoil during wars such as the Crimean War, the American Civil War, and the Franco-Prussian War. Although the canning process remained labor-intensive, canned goods found their way onto the shelves of many grocery stores. As canning, jarring, and preserving became much more common, manufacturers began to compete with one another for business, often using decorative labels to distinguish one brand from another. 

Historic Sugartown’s General Store currently houses a display of handcrafted tin cans wrapped with copies of original 19th century canned food labels. 

Fun Fact: The can opener was not invented until 1858 in the United States! Since many cans were handmade, they often varied in thickness- up to 3/16 of an inch- and were opened by cutting around the top of the can with a chisel and hammer, per manufacturer suggestion.