Giant Life Savers Roll

Where the road forks in a tiny New York town called Gouverneur stands an enormous roll of Pep-O-Mint Life Savers, waiting to freshen a million breaths. Well, at least it looks like it could. Really this massive, minty monument is a remnant of the original Life Savers company building.

Life Savers were invented in 1912 by Cleveland candy maker Clarence Crane, who sold his confection to industrialist and Gouverneur native Edward Noble for $2,900. Noble and co. were able to build the early Life Savers brand into a candy juggernaut.

The first Life Savers factory and company building were established in Port Chester, New York, and a handful of giant candy rolls were installed out front. One of which was modeled after the original Life Savers flavor, Pep-O-Mint. 

Fast forward to the modern day, and that original Life Savers building has long since been turned into condos. But the decorative Pep-O-Mint Life Savers roll that once sat out front has survived. In 1985, when the Port Chester plant closed, the giant candy monument was given to the town of Gouverneur, since it was Noble’s hometown.

Today, the giant candy still stands right in the middle of a public green. It may not freshen anybody’s breath, but it certainly makes for an eye-popping reminder of the candy’s heritage.