Property Record
130 FARNHAM ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Kurth Brewery Boiler Room/Beer Celler |
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| Other Name: | Sheet Metal Specialties |
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| Reference Number: | 83528 |
| Location (Address): | 130 FARNHAM ST |
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| County: | Columbia |
| City: | Columbus |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 199620172018 |
| Historic Use: | brewery/distillery/winery |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Limestone |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2017 This building is an astylistic, one and one half story rectangular building constructed in 1905. It is constructed of stone of load bearing construction with light golden limestone that was laid in a random ashlar pattern. The roof is flat and it’s cladding is hidden from view. The front façade and north side of the building are still covered in the limestone; however, the south facing side of the building has been covered in vertical metal siding. There is a recessed single door entryway on the front facade of the building facing east. To the south is a garage door and to the north is where a large window opening now boarded up and made smaller for a single side by side sash window. On the south side of the building new garage doors and a loading dock have been constructed. The rear of the building is where the one and half story is located. This has also been partially clad in vertical metal siding on the south side but the limestone is still visible on the north side. "Henry John Kurth arrived in Columbus in 1859 with a four barrel boiler. Columbus was a promising prospect for a young brewer, with its fertile farmland and high concentration of Germans. By 1870, the Kurth Brewery was the largest of 3 breweries in Columbus, producing 100 barrels that year. In 1880 Henry John turned the operations over to his son, John Henry and soon after another son, Christian, joined the business which then became known as 'John H. Kurth & Co. By 1900 the brewery complex took up the front of the entire block with a bottling department across the street. In its heyday, about 1914, the brewery was producing 100 barrels of beer a day, making it the largest brewery in the county. The Kurths also had malting operations in Milwaukee and the combined malting capacity made in the Kurth Company 'one of the largest concerns of the kind in the entire country'. The company owned two ice houses, a large grain elevator near the RR depot, beer distribution warehouses in Tomah, Portage, and Luxemburg, three saloons in Columbus and at least 17 others in south central Wisconsin communities. Disaster struck the Kurth Company on July 20, 1916 when the elevator and malthouse were destroyed by fire and stood in ruins for many years. In 1919, prohibition dealt another cruel blow to the firm, which converted its operations to the production of soda pop. After the repeal of prohibition in 1933 the company resumed production of beer; but in 1949 it was one of 55 Wisconsin breweries to shut down for good. Today, the only part of the business to remain is this part-time tavern operation now run for tradition's sake by LauRetta Kurth and her husband John Robert Kurth, great-great grandson of the firm's founder. The degree of integrity of the Kurth office building, particularly the interior, is remarkable. Very few historic buildings, no matter how intact, retain so much of the original fittings, including maoveable furniture and company ledgers. The Kurth office and hospitality room offer a unique and precious glimpse of the daily life of a thriving industry in a small Wisconsin community." Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Butterfield, Consul W. History of Columbus County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880. Heggland, Timothy F. City of Columbus, Columbia County, Wisconsin: Intensive Survey Report. Columbus, WI: The City of Columbus Historic Landmarks and Preservation Commission, 1997. Heggland, Timothy F. City of Columbus, Columbia County, Wisconsin: Update of City of Columbus 1997 Intensive Survey Report. Columbus, WI: The City of Columbus Historic Landmarks and Preservation Commission, 2015. Jones, J.E., ed., A History of Columbia County, Wisconsin. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1914. McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2011. Nesbit, Robert C. Wisconsin: A History. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1989. Stare, Fred A. Story of Columbus. Columbus, WI: Columbus Public Library. Ulrich, Janice R. Images of America: Columbus. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2016. Wyatt, Barbara and State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin: A Manual for Historic Properties. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986. Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |