Local History ROCs!

If you are artistically inclined, chances are you’ve heard of the Hungerford Building. The sprawling industrial edifice on the corner of North Goodman and East Main Streets has housed several studio spaces over the past few decades, but it was originally home to the largest producer of  fruit syrups and ice cream toppings in the country.

The Hungerford Building at 410 North Goodman Street. From: Democrat & Chronicle, January 1, 1927.

The building’s namesake, J. Hungerford Smith, began his career as a pharmacist in the hamlet of Au Sable Forks, NY. He opened up a drug store there in 1879, but soon found himself disappointed with the products available for the soda fountain in his shop.

J. Hungerford Smith. From: Democrat & Chronicle, April 20, 1932.

Finding the flavorings for ice cream sodas and sundaes too artificial tasting, Smith put his chemistry background to good use and proceeded to conduct experiments with a variety of fruits and foodstuffs.

The resulting formulas proved successful and word of Smith’s wares quickly spread throughout the state, drawing visitors to Au Sable Forks such as showman P.T. Barnum and President Grover Cleveland. These celebrity taste testers acted as early influencers, helping to promote Smith’s products to a wider audience.

The demand for Smith’s “true fruit” syrups and ice cream toppings soon outpaced his pharmaceutical business, so the chemist-turned-entrepreneur set up a factory to manufacture his soda fountain fare, first in Au Sable Forks, then in Plattsburgh, NY. It wasn’t long before Hungerford outgrew that town as well, and in the late 1880s, he began setting his sights on New York City.

Before he was able to make the move, a group of Rochester businessmen visited Smith in Plattsburgh and offered him substantial capital should he establish his business in their city. Smith agreed, and in 1890, he set up shop at 19 Elm Street (now Andrew Langston Way).

A circa 1893 ad for J. Hungerford Smith, when the company sold a variety of products including fly paper and baking powder. From: Democrat & Chronicle, June 8, 1893.

By century’s end, the J. Hungerford Smith Company counted 200 employees.

A circa 1904 ad for J. Hungerford Smith, “Manufacturing Chemists.” From: Rochester City Directory, 1904.

In order to accommodate this rapid growth, the company relocated to a sizable railside lot on the southeast corner of North Goodman and East Main Streets in 1900.

The J. Hungerford Smith “laboratory” at 410 North Goodman Street in 1900. City of Rochester Plat Map, 1900.

The firm started out in an industrial edifice on the property that had manufactured rifles during the Spanish-American War, then, over time, constructed additional structures on the site, eventually amassing five buildings totaling more than 200,000 square feet of space.

The company’s campus as it appeared in 1935. City of Rochester Plat Map, 1935.

Therein, employees worked tirelessly to create J. Hungerford Smith’s signature products. The outfit was especially well known for its line of “true fruit” syrups, including Orangeade, Cherry Chic, Niagara punch, and Tangy Club punch, curiously referred to as “the men’s favorite.” Customers could purchase these thirst-quenching beverages at soda fountains and lunch counters, or mix the syrups with water (carbonated or still) at home.

This circa 1915 ad features a soda jerk serving Smith’s Royal Purple Grape Juice. From: Democrat & Chronicle, July 13, 1915.

In addition to its original beverage offerings, J. Hungerford Smith also manufactured the flavor concentrate for root beer giant, A&W.

The soda fountain supplier offered an array of ice cream toppings as well, like hot fudge and maraschino cherries. The latter were made solely with fruits from area farms until the demand outgrew local sources.

Surveying maraschino cherry production at the J. Hungerford Smith plant in Rochester. From: Democrat & Chronicle, October 23, 1955.

Business continued to prosper long after founder J. Hungerford Smith passed away in 1932.

In the 1950s, the firm opened plants in Cleveland, OH, Modesto, CA, Humboldt, TN, as well as a Michigan facility devoted entirely to cherry processing. The following decade, the company established a Canadian operation in Toronto and acquired A&W Restaurants.

The same year that J. Hungerford Smith Co. took ownership of the fast-food chain—1963—the firm left its longtime urban headquarters on North Goodman Street for a new factory in Victor, NY. It remained at the location just five years before moving to Tennessee, by which time the business had been acquired by the United Fruit Company.

Currently owned by Conagra Foods, J. Hungerford Smith continues to manufacture a wide variety of fruit syrups and ice cream toppings. The eponymous edifice the company left behind went on to become a haven for local artists[1] and the home of several businesses, including, somewhat appropriately, Eat Me Ice Cream.

-Emily Morry

[1] Including a number of local bands, such as Ringo Bango and his Talking Dog.