WALLINGFORD – Hinton Mills celebrated 100 years of serving the community over the weekend.
The first Hinton Mills was opened in 1918 by Frank L. Hinton, but was started long before that, according to current owner Adam Hinton.
“My grandfather was orphaned at age 9,” Hinton said. “Some, we believe a neighbor, gave him a calf-which is represented in our logo today. He raised the calf and sold it. He raised a second one and sold that one. Then he started raising two at a time and so on. In 1918, he purchased the location in Goddard.”
In 1923, Hinton’s great-grandfather purchased the location in Plummer’s Landing from a relative.
“That’s our location today,” Hinton said.
During the weekend, hundreds of people visited the Plummer’s Landing location, where they were given a chance to meet the Hinton family, view an exhibit on the history of Hinton Mills and take part in various family friendly activities.
“We’ve had fishing tournaments, there’s a Ferris Wheel, food and other activities,” he said. “We’ve had shuttle buses to take people back and forth to the parking lots and everyone has had a great time today. The rain came and there was a lot of pushing cars out of the mud, but I think it represents what the company has been through over the last 100 years-there’s a lot of ups and downs with running a business that long.”
Among the guests at the celebration were employees and their families.
Mary McGlone said she has been with Hinton Mills for 13 years and currently works as a bookkeeper.
“They’re family oriented and honest people,” she said. “They’re always trying to help the underdog and the farmers to be the best they can be. They’re good Christian people and it makes you feel good about going to work. It’s fantastic that they’ve been around for 100 years. There’s not a lot of family owned companies that can say that.”
Katie Hickerson, a high school student, has worked for the company for three weeks. She said she wants to work in agriculture after college, so she applied at Hinton Mills to gain experience.
“I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know I want to work in agriculture,” she said. “I figured Hinton would be a good place to go to get my feet wet and gain some experience.”
Robert Doyle has worked for the company for five years.
“I work for them part time and farm on the side,” he said. “It’s just a good company to work for.”
Cleo Reynolds said she stopped down for celebration
“My daughter lives on the other side of the bridge and we came up to celebrate,” she said. “I
Sue Ingram said she also lives up the road from Hinton Mills and her family has purchased from the company for many years.
“My husband and I purchase what we need from the company, so we’re very familiar with Hinton Mills,” she said. “We think it’s fantastic that they’re celebrating 100 years.”
The celebration continued throughout the weekend at Plummer’s Landing.
