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 Bozeman Brewery Historic District - Bozeman, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 45° 41.256 W 111° 01.706
12T E 497786 N 5059339
At the end of the nineteenth century one of the first businesses to be created in every town was a brewery. Bozeman's Lehrkind Brewery was one of the larger ones, built to serve one of the larger towns.
Waymark Code: WMWYBY
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 10/29/2017
Views: 0
Now somewhat less of a historic district, the Bozeman Brewery Historic District has recently lost its brewery building, or what was left of it. Built by Julius Lehrkind in 1895 across the street from the still standing bottling plant, the brewery was in operation until the passage of prohibition in Montana in 1919. Sometime after that the brewery building was partially demolished and, sometime between 2014 and 2017 the job was completed, the remainder of the building torn down, leaving only a grassy field where it stood. A photo of the brewery building circa 2014 follows.
In 1925, Julius' grandson Carl built the bottling plant across the street from the brewery, bottling soft drinks. When prohibition was repealed in 1932, Edwin Lehrkind revived the brewery business for a short time under the label of "Old Faithful". This attempt was short lived, the brewery facility then continuing in use as an ice plant, warehouse, creamery and other enterprises. After the bottling plant was closed the business was used as a retail outlet, selling ice, coal and wood. On the west side of the building remains an old painted sign advertising "Pure Ice Co. Coal Wood", the sign partially overwritten by "Coca Cola".
The historic district, originally consisting of five buildings, all contributing, with the loss of the brewery building it now has four, the Lehrkind Bottling Plant, the Julius Lehrkind House, the Henry Lehrkind House and the Edwin Lehrkind House. The three houses, in a line south of East Aspen Street, were built on the same side of Wallace Avenue as the brewery building, with the bottling plant across Wallace Avenue on the east side.
BREWERY HISTORIC DISTRICT
Seventeen-year-old Julius Lehrkind fled compulsory service in the German militia by stowing away on a ship bound for America in 1860. Already having served as a brewmaster's apprentice, Lehrkind easily found employment. Eight years later, a sizable inheritance enabled Julius and his brother, Fred, to establish their own brewery in Davenport, Iowa. When both Fred and his wife died unexpectedly, Julius added their four children to his own six, sold the Iowa brewery, and headed for Montana. High quality water and plentiful barley grown by Dutch settlers near Manhattan brought his large extended family and crew of brewery workers to Bozeman in 1895. Under Julius' direction, the brewery was operating by the end of the year. Julius built his Queen Anne style residence in 1898, and his nephew and son followed suit building their own modest homes adjacent to the family mansion in 1908 and 1912. As brewing technology improved and world lager production tripled, the Bozeman Brewery prospered turning out 40,000 barrels of beer annually and distributing malted barley to breweries statewide. Prohibition, however, curtailed brewing operations in 1919 and was said to have broken Julius' heart. He died several years later. In 1925, grandson Carl Lehrkind opened a bottling plant for soft drink production across the street. The brewery then served as an ice plant and warehouse, and later as a creamery. Despite removal of the malt house and an addition built in 1948, the original function of the main building remains obvious. The brewery, bottling plant, and attendant residences recall the Old World family business traditions Julius Lehrkind carried to Montana and passed to two generations.
From the NRHP plaque at the district
Street address:
700--800 North Wallace Avenue
Bozeman, MT United States
59715
County / Borough / Parish: Gallatin County
Year listed: 1987
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Industry, Architecture
Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899
Historic function: Domestic, Industry/Processing/Extraction - Manufacturing Facility, Single Dwelling
Current function: Domestic, Unknown - Single Dwelling
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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