The 27 acres that we sugar on was originally part of a larger tract of land owned by my great grandfather Andrew L. Hitchcock. Prior to this, it was owned by my great, great grandfather Martin L. Hitchcock. Before that, it was owned by my great, great, great grandfather John T. Hitchcock. Andrew and his father Martin operated the original sugar house in the early 1900's (It was very common in this area of NE Ohio for almost every dairy farmer to have their own sugar bush for supplemental income. Today, only a handful remain.). They used a Warren Evaporator made in Warren, Ohio. Sap was collected with a team of horses. It was 4 feet wide and 12 to 16 feet long. We have some pieces of this evaporator in our new sugar house. It is not known for sure when this original sugar house was built, but we do know that an even larger operation was built sometime after the 1930's, utilizing over 1,000 taps on a 4x16 evaporator.  It has also since been torn down. When Andrew Hitchcock passed away in 1970, the farm was divided up and the 27 acre tract that we sugar on was given to my grandparents Donald and Doris Mae (Hitchcock) Root.  Our present sugar house was built high and dry, as opposed to the original which was on a hillside.It is an honor to be able to tap some of the same sugar maple trees that my ancestors tapped 80+ years ago.  It is also a nice feeling to know that all of the surrounding land is still owned by my relatives.