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Summary
Potosi Brewery
South Main Street, Potosi, Grant County
Builder: Gabriel Hail
Dates of Construction: 1852, 1900
Originally constructed in 1852, the Gabriel Hail Brewery consisted of a small limestone brewing plant. Hail's and his partner John Albrecht's business lasted until 1879. In 1886, the Schumacher family took control of the property and operated the brewery for nearly a century. The brewery complex grew in 1900 and 1902 with the addition of a bottling plant and of several brick stories to the main plant. Other structures were built as the brewery operations expanded. It took on the name Potosi Brewing Company in 1906.
The Potosi Brewery is representative of Wisconsin’s once prevalent local brewing industries. As an operation it was very successful for its size and acted as the city’s largest employer. At its height, the brewery was the fifth largest in Wisconsin and produced 75,000 barrels of beer annually. It distributed its beer through much of Wisconsin and portions of Iowa and Illinois. However, with growing competition from large breweries, the Schumachers ceased brewing operations in 1972.
The brewery buildings stood vacant for many years, suffering from a fire and neglect. In 2004, with restoration of the buildings underway, the American Brewers Association selected the former Potosi Brewery as the home of its national museum. The buildings are open during normal business hours.
Property Details
Resources Within The Property
Designations
State & National Registers of Historic Places
The State Register and National Register recognize buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are significant in national, state, or local history. The State Historic Preservation Office in conjunction with the National Park Service maintains the list for Wisconsin and makes the data available to the public for research and education.
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Potosi Brewery
Mississippi River
The National Brewery Museum and Library is located on the site of the Potosi Brewery. The museum features historic beer and brewing memorabilia, including signs, advertisements, bottles, cans, and ...
The Schumachers of the Potosi Brewing Company
circa 1950s
Five men, most of them Schumachers, stand at a tavern in Potosi, raising glasses of beer in a toast to the Schumacher cousins who operated the Potosi Brewery. Most of the back bar advertisements a...
Potosi Brewery, 1886
1886
Exterior view of what became the Potosi Brewery at about the time Adam Schumacher took over the operation in 1886. The road is busy with wagons and carriages in front of the brewery. A saloon is ...
Adam Schumacher Brewery Employees, 1900
1900
Adam Schumacher Brewery employees, many of them from the Schumacher family, posing with barrels outside the brewery. The Schumacher Brewery became the Potosi Brewing Company in 1905.
Potosi Brewery Bottling Works
circa 1910s
Exterior view of the bottling works of the Adam Schumacher Brewery, built in 1902. The brewery changed its name to the Potosi Brewing Company a few years later. A group of men stand near the front ...
