The
brew quaffed in Marion county has not always been that which
was
imported
from St. Louis and Milwaukee. In the “good old days,”
prior to the
turn
of the century, thirsty residents drank beer which was made
locally.
By
1850 a steady stream of German immigrants flowed into this
area, and
they
brought with them, from their homeland, the brewing art.
The
May 16, 1856, issue of the Central City Gazette tells how
the Centralia
Enterprise
in an indignant editorial attacked the construction of a
brewery in Central City by Adam Miller and Conrad Stands.
Seibel wrote “This was
the
first brewery in town and was much opposed by the God
fearing settlers of Central City, but as no way was found to
prevent the brewery from being
built,
it was completed. It was neither very successful nor
long-lived. Two large
cellars were built beneath the building ... Another brewery was built in Central City shortly after
the Civil War by Heinrich Peick... Both these, breweries made only draft beer.”
The Centralia Sentinel of March 8, 1866, announced the opening of the
Centralia Brewery, Mills and Canthard proprietors. This establishment
was successful for several years, adding new additions to the plant.
The
best known and most enduring of the breweries was
established in
1865
by Daniel Besant. According to Brink-McDonough, “He
afterwards
sold
a half interest to Charles Stamm, and subsequently sold the
balance to
William
Boerner. Boerner sold his interest to Henry Kurth, and it
was then operated
under the firm name of Stamm and Kurth, about four years, when Kurth became the sole
owner and proprietor. In the fall of 1880, Mr. Kurth
sold the establishment to Fredrich Finger, who now operates
it.”
The
Centralia Sentinel of June 20,1885, under the caption “The
Mug That
Always
Cheers and Sometimes Inebriates; But, Used Moderately, is a
Healthful
and Pleasant Summer Beverage,” provides the following
colorful account, “The writer, in company with a couple of
congenial companions,
visited the brewery of Mr. F. Finger on the afternoon of a
hot day this.
week.
The buildings are to be found a little more than a mile east
of Central
City,
perched on the brow of the high bank of Crooked Creek, and
are
pleasantly
located. Mr. Finger was making ready his whole force for the
afternoon's
work of bottling beer. This is a part of the enterprise
recently
begun;
but even now fifty kegs can be put up in a day, and the
capacity will
be
soon be doubled. He used Conrad Seibel's latest improved
bottling
machine,
which slowly fills four bottles so that one man may force in
the
corks
with a machine, while two men fasten on the corks with
wire..
Afterwards
the label is attached, and the cork tin-foiled, when the
beer is
ready
for market―or to be drunk, which ever is
the handiest. While
we
were
there, less than an hour, the four men put up over 170
bottles. This was
without
counting the help given by a little Finger, a bright, hardy,
strong,
6-year-old
chap, who seemed as much at home among the vats, kegs,
bottles,
beer and machinery as the men; and who promises in the
course of
time
to take his father's place as a brewer.
“Mr.
Finger claims that his beer, being made and bottled by an improved
process, will keep an indefinite period in any climate;
that a
two-months
exposure to the sun would not affect it, and that the
quality is
equal
to Pilsner, Budweiser, or any brand with a worldwide name.”
“It
is put up in cases of two dozen quart bottles at $2.50 per
case, or forty eight pint bottles for family use at $2.70.
The bottles are to be returned. The
wagon
will deliver the beer and call for the bottles without
charge. The
telephone
number is 98.”
“The
Centralia Brewery employs eight men, and has a capacity of
200
kegs
per day. The cave or cold storage room is a curious place
and might
well
be the home of gnomes and water sprites. ‘Tis built in a
side hill filled with beer in various stages of
fermentation. A visit will repay one, and the
proprietor
and employees will be found pleasant, sociable, and communicative.
Mr. Finger contemplates extensive improvements, soon to be
made,
which will render his brewery as complete as any in the
country.”
This
brewery furnished beer to all the towns in this section of
the country.
There
was in connection with the brewery, twenty-three acres of
picnic
grounds.
It had an excellent stand of timber, with Crooked Creek
meandering
through it, providing a cool and pleasant resort for such
excursions.
The
location to this day, is known as Brewery Hill.
In
1893, Max Prill purchased the property, but then quickly
resold it to
John
Thoebes of Helena, Montana. Mr. Thoebes combined the making
of
artificial
ice with the manufacture of beer. The caves were perfect for
its
storage.
The plant was demolished by fire in 1896 and never rebuilt.
The
last
newspaper notice of this location occurred on May 1, 1912,
when the
Sentinel
mentioned that the caves were being used by moonshiners. A
raid
quickly
brought an end to this activity.
Thus ended the era when the
beer which filled the steins and mugs at the
corner saloon was brewed
locally.
SOURCES (1) Brink-McDonough,
“.Combined History of Marion and
Clinton Counties,” 1881.
(2)
Clark W. Seibel, “My Hometown: A Brief History of Central
City.” 1952.