A series where we take a #lookback at the stories and history of our community, brought to you by Mick Pryor, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones.
A mug of beer with a head of foam after a hard day of work is a pleasure men have shared with their friends for generations. Sorry ladies, in the 1800s only women of ill-repute were served in breweries and bars. A respectable woman would never enter a brewery. The early gold miners in the Sweetwater mining district did not have to wait long until the first entrepreneurs hauled brewing equipment into the mining district and opened for business.
“On April 8, 1868, a company with Jules E Coffee, Ward Noble, H.B. McCumber, Jules Lamoreaux and about 26 others started with ox teams and wagons loaded with whiskey, beer, general merchandise, and machinery for brewing, as Mr. McCumber was to embark in the brewery business when at their destination, South Pass, Wyoming.”
The wagon train arrived at South Pass on May 2, 1868, and McCumber wasted no time in setting up his business. The local paper, Sweetwater Mines dated May 30,1868 had an ad for H. B. McCumber’s Brewery. It didn’t list an address, but probably most patrons knew where it was located. In the June 13th issue of Sweetwater Mines the address is listed at Dakota Street near South Pass Avenue in South Pass City with F.T. Grenberg, proprietor.
On December 23, 1868 the Sweetwater Mines ran an ad for Duder’s Bakery, Brewery and Lunch House on Main Street. Another establishment, Pioneer Brewery opened April 7, 1869. Saloons and Breweries were prospering during the gold mining boom period.
In the May 30, 1868 issue of Sweetwater Mines the editor reported sampling McCumber’s brew and there was “dosed with the best ale we ever tasted in this Rocky Mountain country.” Early brewery owners had plenty of spring water. The spring in Beer Garden Gulch in Atlantic City seems to have been one water source, and 400 pounds of barley were sown in the Wind River Valley, so barley was locally sourced. Yeast, glassware and brewing equipment had to be freighted into South Pass, but the saloons and breweries were thriving in the 1870s.
James Sherlock, in his book South Pass and Its Tales tells of the untimely death of one brewmaster behind the hotel in South Pass. Adam Henry went to draw a bucket of water from the well, used for brewing. It was icy and he slipped and fell head first into the well where he was found dead the next day.
The gold boom did not last long in South Pass and as the gold played out, businesses and breweries closed up shop and left. By 1880, there were no breweries listed in the South Pass, Wyoming census, but Henry McComber and John Huff were listed as brewers in Atlantic City. Alvin Hyroth, who had been listed as a brewer in 1870 was listed as a blacksmith in the 1880 census.
Charles Hart of Lander was also listed as a brewer in the 1880 census. Charles Hart ran the Lander Brewing Company which was located on the east side of the river in Lander at Main Street. It was a popular place for the men of Lander to imbibe for many years. The Fremont Clipper, the local newspaper reported the Lander Brewing company was “well provided with all the modern machinery for the manufacture of beer and when run at its full capacity is capable of manufacturing all the beverages which are consumed in Lander and in many little towns surrounding.” The Clipper added that “the beer manufactured at Chas. Hart Brewery was superior to that shipped from other markets.” In August of 1899, a vote was taken at Fort Washakie, and only two out of 100 enlisted men preferred Pabst Beer to the local beer brewed at the Lander Brewing Company. Evidently, local breweries have been making quality products since settlers first came into the region.
Photo the Lander Brewing Company circa 1898
Author: Liz Farmer
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
July 13 10am at the Pioneer Museum, “Eagle Bronze Adventure Trek” Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek Series
July 16, 8am at the Dubois Museum, “Moon Lake Adventure Trek” Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek Series
July 17, 7pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Eagle Spirit Dancers”
July 20, 10:30am at the Dubois Museum, “Kids Corner: Butter Churning” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
July 24, 7pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Eagle Spirit Dancers”
July 30, 8:30am at the Dubois Museum, “Bonneville Pass Adventure trek” Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek Series
July 31, 7pm, 10am at the Pioneer Museum, at the Pioneer Museum, “Eagle Spirit Dancers”
Call the Dubois Museum 1-307-455-2284, the Pioneer Museum 1-307-332-3339 or the Riverton Museum 1-307-856-2665 for detail regarding their programs.
The Dubois Museum, the Pioneer Museum in Lander and the Riverton Museum need your financial support. In the current economic environment, the museums are more reliant than ever on donations from the private sector to continue to provide the quality programs, collections management, exhibits and services that have become their hallmark over the last four years. Please make your tax deductible contribution to be used specifically for the benefit of the museum of your choosing by sending a check to Fremont County Museums 450 N 2nd Rm 320 or taking it directly to the museum you choose to support.