by Kylie Balk Yaatenen - September 22nd 2024
JANESVILLE
Tucked into the west bank of the Rock River, along the Kiwanis Trail in Janesville, are the ruins of what was once a successful local brewery.
Janesville native and amateur beer historian Robert Bier, the Rock County Historical Society, and others, have teamed since 2015 to excavate the Northside Brewery. It operated along the river from the mid-1800s until an evolving industry landscape and related pressures sent it into bankruptcy in 1939.
At the dig site, across the street from Mercy Hospital, a brown fence now outlines the footprint of the former brewery building. Deeper down the hill, on what was once the brewery floor, stains from old machinery and barrels are still imprinted nearly a century later.
Northside Brewery opened in 1857 and operated for nearly 80 years. It was owned and operated by John and Michael Buob, Louis F. Knipp, and Frank and William Croak. It resumed production after prohibition but industry changes, most crucially the mass-producing of beer and competition from the Milwaukee breweries, forced it into bankruptcy.
The brewery building was razed in the 1940s, leaving remnants of the foundation and scattered debris. For years the property sat empty and over time it was retaken by nature, drawing vagrants and some criminal activity.
Bier said when efforts began nearly a decade ago to uncover what remained of the brewery, it was overrun with trees. Volunteers came together to clear the foliage and soon began to see its outline.
At first “you couldn’t see five feet in,” Bier recalls. “You could see two pillars sticking out but that’s it.”
The volunteer group has worked closely with the city of Janesville to document the history of the site and has brought in local contractors for the excavation, including Copperhead Contracting of Milton, Richards Construction of Janesville and McKnight Excavating of Milton.
Contractors have brought in heavy equipment to remove dirt, brick, limestone, and mortar covering the brewery’s foundation.
Research and documention
On the research and documentation side, Bier has teamed with Rene Bue, community engagement manager with the Hedberg Public Library in Janesville, and Michale Palmer, a recent graduate of Craig High School, to document artifacts found on the site and to research the history of the brewery’s operations.
Artifacts they’ve collected include beer bottles, bottle caps, beer labels, machinery parts, rat traps, and beer barrel parts.
And they have worked to make the site educational. Today, those who walk by can find out about the brewery by accessing small signs with QR codes that are posted on the site.
Bier, who now lives in Maryland, said when he was growing up in Janesville in the 1960s and 1970s, beer can collecting was all the rage.
Not a beer drinker himself — which he concedes is ironic given his last name and that hobby — he started his research on historic Janesville breweries with a visit to the Hedberg Public Library. He soon found there were many that operated in Janesville over time, that today are all but forgotten.
“There are nearly 20 of them but people only knew half the story, and no one ever tied that picture together,” he said. “So, that’s what we’ve been doing, and it’s just awesome that we have this piece of a time capsule from 1857.”
He said while doing research at the library he met Bue, and the two self-proclaimed “history nerds” connected over the research project.
Bue said her interest in archaeology goes back to childhood, when she and her stepfather dug for arrowheads in the Black River Falls area.
“When Robert came to me and asked if I would be interested” in working with him on historical brewery research, “I was like ‘oh yeah,’” Bue said.
Bier said once they started “pulling the thread,” information just kept coming.
“You wouldn’t believe the rabbit holes we’ve gone down,” he said.
Artifacts
Bier said artifacts they’ve found have included a name plate from a machine, and a bottle weight. The weight would sit on a scale with a bottle on one side and the weight on the other and when the bottle was full it would stop filling it. That ensured a uniform weight to each bottle of beer.
Bue unearthed the weight, cleaned it off and found the name of a company engraved on it. She was quickly able to connect with someone at the firm that manufactured it.
“I never thought it would go anywhere,” she recalls. “I emailed the basic information and sent some pictures, and within four hours, the vice president of the company responded and said ‘Yep, I know exactly what that is.’ (He) said the year and everything.”
They also found a tobacco pipe they like to think belonged to brewery owner Frank Croak, whom they have photos of smoking a pipe. They have, unfortunately, no proof that the pipe was his.
Next steps
The dig is continuing, revealing more of the structure. The hope, going forward, is to define an outline of the building and to add more informational and educational signage. Those involved also envision incorporating some of the original brick into a new structure on the site that would serve as a small museum on the history of the brewery.
Bier said the main goal is to share the history of Northside Brewery with community residents and visitors. He said he’s found a lot of joy in the work and in sharing what they’ve discovered so far.
He said there’s a lot of documented history about companies that operated in Janesville, such as General Motors and Parker Pen, but not nearly as much was documented about the city’s historic breweries. He said that’s unfortunate because “the brewing industry was quite large.”
Bier and Bue said the research has involved connecting with family members of those who owned and worked at the brewery, some of whom have artifacts and stories of their own to share that have been passed down to them.
“They may have a bottle cap,” said Bier, adding that when they learn about the current project and what’s been unearthed so far, “they’re very thankful.”
“The families, for sure, should know about the history,” he said.
Bue said she’s enjoyed talking to the people who know someone who worked at or owned Northside Brewery.
“I love discovering this stuff,” she said. “I love doing the research and knowing the story. I love interviewing the people, hearing their stories, but then being able to give back to the community and to the families. That, to me, is the best.”
More information on the excavation of Northside Brewery can be found on the Rock County’s Historic Breweries, Bars, and Saloons-RCHBBS Facebook page. In addition to Northside Brewery, the Facebook page has information on other local breweries that once operated in the Rock County area, whose histories have begun to be documented.
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