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YesteryearAlthough Harvey was originally founded as a lemperane# town, early settlers of Thornton township displayed a strong interest in producing and consuming beer.Don Carols Berry opened the area's first saloon in 1836, the same year he established the Thornton post office. In 1857John S. Bielfeldt, ancestor ofThornton’s present Bielfeldt family, bought a one-room log cabin on Ridge rd. from Gurdon Hubbard (the man who beeom* a Thornton real estate scion by marrying an Indian princess for her land). He turned the cabin into the area’s first brewery.Bielfeldt made his beer out of grain ground in a horse-powered mill and water from a spring w;hich ran across Ridge rd. Until 1910 the beer was delivered to Beecher, Eagle Lake, Crown Point, Hessville, andDyer, Ind. by horse and wagon.In 1922 the brewery was destroyed by fire. The Frederick brothers bought the plant in 1936 and spent more than $400,000 to modernize the original cabin. Later an artesian well 1.800 feet deep was drilled to supply water. During World War II it specialized in 3.2 percent “near-beer” for the armed services.Although the brewery finally went out of business, it* red brick buildings still stand on Ridge rd. near the bridge over Thorn creek, and the fading vestiges of a sign advertising the beer may be seen on the side of the building.The yellow pages of the current Harvey-Blue Island area telephone directory lists 20 beer distributors and producers and more than 150 taverns.* * *
Newspaper Details
Harvey Tribune
Harvey, Illinois, US
Tue, May 12, 1959
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 23 Oct 2018
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