Molasses, also known as black treacle (in the context of human consumption in Britain), is a thick, syrupy byproduct that results from the process of refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. The properties of molasses vary depending on the sugar content, extraction method, and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is mainly used for sweetening and flavoring foods in the United States, Canada, and other countries. In contrast, sugar beet molasses has an unpleasant smell and taste, making it suitable primarily as an animal feed additive in Europe and Russia, where it is predominantly produced. Molasses is a crucial ingredient in high-quality commercial brown sugar.

In 1879, 20-year-old Lorenzo George Crosby opened a grocery business in the thriving port town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. As a young and ambitious entrepreneur, Lorenzo quickly made a name for himself in the import/export trade industry, shipping fish and lumber from the Maritimes to the West Indies and bringing back barrels filled with the highly valued fancy molasses. This marked the beginning of the Crosby’s Molasses Company.

In 1897, Crosby Molasses relocated to Saint John—a larger, more centrally-located harbour town.

By 1911, Crosby’s had outgrown its place of business on Nelson Street and moved to Marsh Road – now known as Rothesay Avenue.  

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