British Hollow was one of those very early places settled in Wisconsin. Back in fact before it even was Wisconsin. The first permanent settlers seem to have arrived in 1832 when this pretty area near the Mississippi River was still part of Michigan Territory.
The early settlers were Cornish and the place saw busy times in the lead mining era of the 1840's and 50's. But after that things got pretty quiet.
So it seems odd that a couple of guys named Stephens and Mohrenburg decided to start a brewery there much later. Official records say 1870 but some time in the 1860's seems more plausible.
In 1872 a man named Henry Macke bought it for $12,000, which was quite a sum back then. It went through another ownership change before going out of business around 1888. But in its heyday it was a respectable sized brewery, producing 1000 barrels a year in the late 1870's.
Today all that remains is the heavily altered brew master's house and of course the brewery cave. From the road you can just see it peeking out of the underbrush. Look for it on the south side of British Hollow Road down in rural Grant County.
1 comment:
This was my childhood home. My parents bought the vfw club and we lived there. As kids, we played in those caves. Lots of memories there!
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