Property Record
ABOUT 120 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Potosi Brewery |
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| Other Name: | Potosi Feed Service |
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| Reference Number: | 17015 |
| Location (Address): | ABOUT 120 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Potosi |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1852 |
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| Additions: | 1902 1890 |
| Survey Date: | 1976 |
| Historic Use: | brewery |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Potosi Brewery |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/19/1980 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. THE FORMER POTOSI BREWING COMPANY BREWING BUILDING WAS A BRICK AND LIMESTONE STRUCTURE, AND WAS DOMINATED BY THE BRICK BREWING TOWER WHICH ROSE FOUR STORIES. THE BOTTLING WORKS AND COMPANY OFFICE ARE ACROSS THE STREET AND ARE SIMPLE BRICK STRUCTURES. INDUSTRIAL IN STYLE, THIS TWO STORY BREWERY FEATURED AN IRREGULAR PLAN CONFIGURATION AND A FLAT ROOF. THE LOWER STORIES OF THE BREWING PLANT WERE CONSTRUCTED IN 1852, THE BOTTLING WORKS WAS BUILT IN 1902, AND THE COMPANY OFFICE WAS COMPLETED IN 1920. (SEE BIB. REF.A, C). BEFORE BEING DAMAGED BY FIRE IN 2/1995, THE BREWERY WAS CONSIDERED TO BE IN FAIR CONDITION. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE POTOSI BREWERY WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE GABRIEL HAIL BREWERY, THAT BEING THE NAME OF THE MAN WHO BUILT THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE IN 1852. HAIL'S OPERATION, HOWERER, LASTED ONLY UNTIL 1879, WITH THE BREWERY THEN VACANT FOR SEVEN YEARS. IN 1866, A GERMAN IMMIGRANT, ADAM SCHUMACHER, PRUCHASED THE PROPERTY, GAVE THE BREWERY HIS NAME, AND TOGETHER WITH THREE BORTHERS BEGAN PRODUCING A "TRADITIONAL GERMAN LAGER BEER." THIS INAUGURATED THE BUSINESS CONTROLLED BY THE SCHUMANCHER FAMILY FOR NEARLY NINETY YEARS. IN 1906, THE BROTHERS INCORPORATED UNDER THE NAME POTOSI BREWING COMPANY WITH ADAM SCHUACHER AS PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY IN THE MAJOR POSITIONS OF TREASURER AND BREWMASTER. THIS WAS TO BE THE PATTERN FOR THE REST OF THE BREWERY'S OPERATION - THE SCHUMACHER FAMILY SUPERVISING EVERY FACET OF PRODUCTION AND SALE. DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, THE POTOSI BREWING COMPANY WAS ABLE TO OUTLAST MOST OTHER SMALL BREWERIES DUE TO FORESIGHT AND CAREFULLY PLANNED EXPANSION. WITH THE ADVENT OF PROHIBITIONS, FOR INSTANCE, THE SCHUMACHERS INSTALLED DE-ALCHOLIZING EQUIPMENT AND MAINTAINED PRODUCTION. AT ITS HEIGHT, THE BREWERY PRODUCED OVER 75,000 BARRELS OF BEER ANNUALLY AND ACTED AS POTOSI'S SINGLE LARGEST EMPLOYER. IN 1972, HOWEVER, THE BUSINESS SUCCUMBED, AND A YEAR LATER THE BUILDINGS WERE LEFT VACANT. (SEE BIB. REF. A). THE POTOSI BREWERY REPRESENTS THE ONCE PREVALENT OCCURRENCE OF BREWERIES AS LOCAL INDUSTIRES IN WISCONSIN. THE BREWERY, WHICH WAS AN IMPORTANT ECONOMIC FORCE IN THE COMMUNITY, SOLD ITS PRODUCTS OVER MUCH OF SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN AND PORTIONS OF IOWA AND ILLINOIS, AND AS A RESULT, EARNED A REPUTATION THAT WAS MORE EXTENSIVE THAN MOST BREWERIES OF A COMPARABLE SIZE. (SEE BIB. REF. A). A Historic Structure Report of this building can be found in Room 312 at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Covenant/Easement: In Perpetuity. Effective 12-7-1998. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATION FORM, HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION, STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY (NOTE: THE COMPANY OFFICE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE NOMINATION, BUT IS A PART OF THE COMPLEX. ITS DATE OF CONSTRUCTION IS AN ESTIMATE BY THE SURVEYOR. THE BUILDING IS NOT SHOWN ON THE 1912 SANBORN PERRIS MAP). Boscobel Dial 6/28/2001. B. LANCASTER GRANT COUNTY HERALD INDEPENDENT 2/23/1995. Prairie du Chien Courier Press 6/9/1999. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |