Maple Syrup History Publications by Matthew M. Thomas

Thomas, Matthew M. 1999 An Archaeological Overview of Native American Maple Sugaring and Historic Sugarbushes of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Report submitted in fulfillment of a State Historical Society of Wisconsin Survey and Planning Grant. Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Office. < copies shared upon request >
Thomas, Mathew M. 2001 The Archaeology of Great Lakes Native American Maple Sugar Production in the Reservation Era. The Wisconsin Archeologist 82(1): 75-102.
Thomas, Matthew M. and Janet Silbernagel 2003 The Evolution of a Maple Sugaring Landscape on Lake Superior’s Grand Island. The Michigan Academician 35(2):135-158.
Thomas Matthew 2003 What’s in a Name? Wisconsin Maple News 19 (1): 17.
Thomas, Matthew 2003 A 1952 Visit to an Indian Sugarbush. Wisconsin Maple News 19(2): 23.
Thomas, Matthew 2004 Marketing Maple in the 1930s: The Pierce County Maple Syrup Producers Association. Wisconsin Maple News 20(2): 7.
Thomas, Matthew 2004 The Gooseneck Metal Pipeline: Wisconsin’s First Tubing System? Wisconsin Maple News 20(1): 12.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2004 Where the Forest Meets The Farm: A Comparison of Spatial and Historical Change in the Euro-American and American Indian Maple Production Landscape. Ph.D. Dissertation. Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2005 The Central Evaporator Plant in Wis. Maple History. Wisconsin Maple News 21( 2): 10.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2005 A History of the Gooseneck: The Brower Sap Piping System and the Cary Maple Syrup Company. Maple Syrup Digest 17A(3):25-30.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2005 Historic American Indian Maple Sugar and Syrup Production Boiling Arches in Michigan and Wisconsin. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 30(2): 299-326.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2018 Short and Sweet: Sherman Holbert’s Mid-Century Mille Lacs Lake Maple Syrup Experiment. Minnesota History Magazine 66(2): 66-73.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2018 Maple King: The Making of a Maple Syrup Empire. CreateSpace Publishing Platform. Matthew M. Thomas Publisher. Vallejo, CA.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2019 Cary Maple: Silent Film from the Sugarbush. Vermont’s Northland Journal 17(204): 6-15.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2020 Vermont’s Maple King: The Story of George C. Cary and the Cary Maple Sugaring Company. Presentation to the Vermont Maple Conference, Hyde Park, VT, January 25, 2020 (video)
Thomas, Matthew M. 2020 History of the Origins and Development of Plastic Tubing in the Maple Syrup Industry. Presentation to the Vermont Maple Conference, Hyde Park, VT, January 25, 2020 (video)
Thomas, Matthew M. 2020 Minnesota’s First Maple Syrup Researcher. Minnesota Maple News December: 1-3.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 The Grand Portage Band and Maple Syrup on the North in the 1950s & 1960s. Minnesota Maple News March: 1-2.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 The Introduction and Adoption of the First Evaporators. Maple Syrup Digest 60(1): 27-31.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 From Pails to Pipelines: The Origins and Early Adoption of Plastic Tubing in the Maple Syrup Industry. Vermont History Winter/Spring Vol 89, No. 1: 52-78.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 Holbert Brothers Maple Syrup at Mille Lacs Lake. Minnesota Maple News June: 1-3.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 The Early History of the Plastic Maple Syrup Jug: Part One – The 1960s. Maple Syrup Digest 60 (2): 23 and 25.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 Reynolds Sugar Bush: Putting Wisconsin on the Maple Syrup Map. Wisconsin Maple News 42 (1): 25-29.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 Minnesota’s Most Famous Maple Sugaring Painting. Minnesota Maple News September: 1-2.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 The Early History of the Plastic Maple Syrup Jug: Part Two- The 1970s. Maple Syrup Digest 60 (3): 21- 25.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 Stretching the Meaning of Pure Maple Syrup – Towle’s Log Cabin Syrup. Minnesota Maple News December: 1-2.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2021 The Early History of the Plastic Maple Syrup Jug: Part Three- The 1980s. Maple Syrup Digest 60 (4): 27-31.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 From Pails to Pipelines: The Origins of Plastic Tubing in the Maple Syrup Industry. Webinar Presentation sponsored by the North American Maple Syrup Council. January 11, 2022 (video)
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 A Look at Early 19th Century Beginnings for Flat Pans and Sugarhouses. Maple Syrup Digest 61 (1): 27- 29.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 Railroads, Syrup Plants, and Pipelines: Large Scale Syrup Production Over a Century Ago with The Horse Shoe Forestry Company. Maple Syrup Digest 61 (3): 28- 32.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 The Man and the Can: Patrick J. Towle and the St. Paul Origins of Log Cabin Syrup. Ramsey County History Magazine 57 (1): 14-26.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022. Reynolds Sugar Bush: Putting Wisconsin of the Maple Syrup Map. Wisconsin Magazine of History Spring 2022: 36-45
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 Bringing New Life to a Film on Minnesota Maple Syrup Making in the 1960s. Minnesota Maple News June: 3-4.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 The St. Paul Syrup Refining Company and It’s Brand of Absolutely Pure Canada Sap Maple Syrup. Minnesota Maple News December: 1-2.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2022 Mountain Meadow Farms Made Maple History. Laurel Messenger 64 (2): 1-5.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 Uncovering the History of a Collection of Ojibwe Maple Sugaring Tools. Minnesota Maple News March: 1-4.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 Green Mountain Distillery: Maple Syrup Liquor and the End of Prohibition. Maple Syrup Digest 62 (2): 22-27.
Thomas, Matthew M., and Mary Kunzler-Larmann. 2023 The History of the Greater Horseshoe Lake Landscape – Part One: A.A. Low and the Horse Shoe Forestry Company. The Quarterly (SLCHA) 67 (1): 9-25.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 A Brief History of Metal Syrup Cans. Presentation at the International Maple Conference. Sturbridge, Massachusetts, October 26, 2023.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 Documenting and Preserving the History of Your Maple Organization, Maple Business or Family Sugarbush. Presentation at the International Maple Conference. Sturbridge, Massachusetts, October 27, 2023.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 Miniature Evaporators and Salesman’s Models. Presentation at the International Maple Conference. Sturbridge, Massachusetts, October 28, 2023.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 Life After Log Cabin: Bucket Brand Syrup and Pioneer Maple Products
Company, Minnesota Maple News December: 1-3.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2023 A Short History of the George D. Aiken Sugar Maple Laboratory. Maple Syrup Digest 62 (4): 36-39.
Thomas, Matthew M., and Mary Kunzler-Larmann. 2023 The History of the Greater Horseshoe Lake Landscape – Part Two: Recreational Development and Rewilding. The Quarterly (SLCHA) 67 (2): 8-27.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2024 The Minnesota Connection to the Origins of Reverse Osmosis in the Maple Industry. Minnesota Maple News, June: 1-2.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2024 Embracing Change & Preserving the Past: An Introduction to the Maple History Corner. VMSMA Newsletter: The Official Voice of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers, Summer: 10.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2024 The Maple Syrup Bottle With the Odd Little Handle: A Closer Look At Its History. Maple Syrup Digest 63(2): 17-21.
Thomas, Matthew M. 2024 Les origines de l’emblématique bôite de conserve ronde de sirop d’érable du Québec. Histoire Québec, Vol. 30, no. 1: 33-35

This site presents ideas, current research, and new sources of information related to the history of the production and use of maple syrup and maple sugar in North America. The purpose of this site is not to be the definitive account tracing the history of maple syrup and sugar, or telling the maple story, although at times it will share old and new contributions to maple history. Rather, the focus is on the study and doing of maple syrup related history. The site will primarily feature topics and research of interest to the site’s creator, but on occassion the site may feature guest contributors.

This site is not the place to find answers to questions like “how do you make maple syrup”? It is assumed that if the reader was able to successfully use the internet to find this site they can also use it to answer their other maple syrup related questions.

Readers are encouraged to submit maple history related questions through the contact form below or by email to maplesyruphistory@gmail.com

This site is the creation and work of Matthew Thomas, an independent researcher with a wide range of interests in all things maple. With an academic background in American Indian studies, anthropology, archaeology, and geography, including a Doctorate from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Matthew has been researching and writing about the history of maple syrup and sugar for the past twenty years. Matthew can be reached by the contact form above.