Tailor Shop Became The Brass Rail Tavern

FROM TAILOR TO GROCER TO TAVERN

Casper Granby was a tailor. He married a young lady named Margaret J. Fisher in Cass County, Indiana in March of 1887. She was his second wife. His first wife and six children lived in Three Rivers, Michigan. The couple opened a shop at 525 Twelfth Street, Logansport, Indiana and Casper began his own tailoring business. His shop is listed in the 1887 Logansport City Directory under “Merchant Tailors” and he and his wife lived in an apartment above the shop. The couple had one daughter together.

Casper got into the grocery business by 1895. We’ll never know what made him change his line of work, possibly job security, as everyone has to eat, but not everyone could afford new suits. His new found occupation didn’t last long, however. Casper died in May of 1897 while visiting his children in Three Rivers. He was buried in Burr Oak, Michigan alongside his first wife.

Margaret Gamby maintained the grocery at 525 Twelfth until about 1914. By 1915 William and Fannie Hildebran were operating the grocery.

The Hildebrans pose for a photograph in front of their grocery about 1914.

The owner of this original photo is Dorothy Dunkin Vernon, a great great granddaughter.

Five years later, in 1920, the grocery had become just one of the locations for the J. T. Ruch & Co. “chain” of stores in Logansport. Rich was in business with one of the men in the Drompp family, whose name we haven’t located, yet. The manager of Ruch’s 12^th Street location, Virgil Morgan, resigned in January of 1922 to take a position with a “five and dime” store in Marshall, Michigan.

By 1924 the property at 525 12^th Street was cleared of its groceries and was renamed “Ruch and Drompp Thrift Store”. They did business until 1928, and then the building sat vacant for a year.

Between 1931 and 1935 John Perrone operated “Perrone’s Tavern” opened here. An article in an issue of the Logansport paper announced that John Perrone, who believed in buying local and was known as an “early bird” waited around for Schmidt Brewery to open and purchased the first keg of beer from them. (Logansport Pharos Tribune, March 31, 1934)

Due to gaps in the city directories and other documentation and materials available for research, there is no definite year for when the property was reoccupied. When it was reoccupied it was by Walter Purcell. Walter Purcell started up a nice tavern and restaurant and did business there until he moved in 1939. At that time Mr. Purcell moved his operation to a new building, built by Wolfe Construction, at the west end of Linden Avenue. He ran a nice ad in the Logansport newspapers and from all indications he did very well at that new location.

Above: Logansport Press, September 1, 1939

Meanwhile the property at 525 12^th Street was getting a new tenant, Joseph Ricciardi, and a new name – The Brass Rail. The Brass Rail offered authentic, homemade Italian food. It was well received and did a good business for many years. Dinner specials were often advertised in the local newspapers, boasting of the best spaghetti and meatballs and clean tablecloths on the tables.

 1947 Ad

1950 Ad

The Brass Rail changed owners in the early 1950s when Nicholas Mittica took over. His residence was listed in the Logansport City Directory as “525 ½” which placed him living in the second floor apartment, as the original couple Casper and Margaret Gamby’s, had done before him.

Later photo of The Brass Rail

In 1970 Nicholas Mittica was arrested for serving alcohol to six minors. The juveniles, one age 16 and 5 age 17 were arrested for illegal possession. Two of them were from Logansport and four were from Monticello.

June 17, 1970 Logansport Pharos Tribune

The business seemed to diminish from that time on.

April 2, 1981 Logansport Pharos Tribune Ad

The Brass Rail name was lost in 1981 when a new owner came to town. His vision for the place focused more on drinks and entertainment and less on food service. He put in a pool table, played loud music and renamed the place “Piggy’s”. After a short shut down, this owner reopened as “Piggy’s II Lounge”. But by 1984 the business was closed.

In 1984 Mary Ricci opened a ceramic shop at the address.

Logansport's Famous Brewery

We get questioned often about the brewery which stood on High Street in Logansport. Bottles from both the Columbia brand and the K G Schmidt brand of beer come through the museum doors. We average 3 to 4 bottles per year. Bottles which were unearthed or found between the walls or maybe under the porch of a home being renovated...once in a while someone will present a bottle, usually K G Schmidt brand, that is still sealed, with product inside. The museum has a large collection of both brands, both empty and with product. We only accept them if the owner intends to dispose of them in the waste or recycle bin. Fortunately most people end up keeping them.

The brewery on High Street. The Bottling House was closest to the photographer.

This would be on the west side of the brewery looking east up High Street.

 

BREWERY HISTORY

1889-1890
CITY BREWERY John Mutschler, German immigrant - a brew master - started the first brewery in that location. There had been other, smaller operations in Logansport, at other locations. The High Street location is the best known and lasted the longest.

1890-1895
LOGANSPORT BREWING COMPANY President and manager Eugene Prager. The address 418-420-422 High Street. Employees included Adolph Mutschler.

Logansport Journal, May 30, 1889, page 3
There will be a general meeting at J. Mutchler's city brewery, for the purpose of organizing a stock company to purchase and operate the above brewery. All saloonkeepers and business men in general are most earnestly requested to attend.

Logansport Journal, Feb. 27, 1890, page 3
Medland & Gleitz  have secured the contract for building the addition to the city brewery, in which will be placed the artificial ice machine.

Logansport Pharos Tribune, January 16, 1891, page 4
A little over a year ago Eugene Prager and August Binz with several Chicago parties purchased the city brewery of the late John Mutchler and at once set to work remodeling and otherwise improving it, expanding about $65,000 in making needed changes. (omissions) It is such enterprises that make a thriving city. Mr. Prager has just returned from Chicago and while there succeeded in purchasing the interests in the brewery owned by Chicago parties and hereafter he and August Binz will be sole owners.

1895-1920
COLUMBIA BREWERY General Managers - 1895, Harry Brookmeyer Jr.; 1897, John G. Keip; 1920 Frank V. Albert. By 1915 Jacob Maier was the brew master.

Logansport Pharos Tribune, Oct. 23, 1895, page 4

Robert Boerger,one of the proprietors of the Columbia brewery is in the city. His visit means the erection of a $20,000 addition to the brewery, an expenditure made necessary by the rapid increase in business since the present management took hold of it. Accompanying Mr. Boerger is Mr. Lewis Leahle, an architect, who has made the construction of breweries a study. He has prepared plans for many of the largest breweries of the country.

The new addition shall be constructed just west of the new building. In dimensions it will be 35 feet front by 100 feet deep, two stories high and will have a cellar capacity of 30,000 barrels. It will be built of stone, brick and iron, and the estimated cost complete is $20.000.

It should be noted here that Prohibition put a halt to production of beer, however the Columbia company can still be found in the City Directory under "soft drinks".

PROHIBITION

Logansport Daily Tribune, November 16, 1919, page 3

BIG QUANTITY OF BEER POURED INTO RIVER

Many thirsty souls of Logansport would undoubtedly have taken a swim in the chilly waters of the Eel River last week if they had only known what occurred near the Columbia Brewery. A large quantity of' 8 per cent beer which had been held at the brewery in the hopes that prohibition would be defeated, was poured into the river. A hose attached to the vat in which the beer was contained and throughout the week, a continual stream of the liquor was poured into the river. The plant will now be closed down until the quantity of  dry beer which is now on hand is disposed of.

The Bottling House - the west end of the brewery aka "beer plant".

This building was torn down in the 1950s or 60s.

 

The brewery looking toward the bottling house on the west end on High Street.

 

COLUMBIA BREWERY

 



The clear Columbia bottles are the most common found. The dark

bottles are a little less common.

As Prohibition was in effect - by 1921 the building housed “People’s Garage” in the west half of the building and the rest of the building was vacant. The building housed other various businesses including “Wide Awake Transfer” which was a buy, sell, trade business for large items such as stoves, ranges and furniture; John McCormick’s Feed Store; and Cass Co. Farm Products.

 

K G SCHMIDT BREWERY

 

 

1935-1951

K. G. SCHMIDT BREWERY operated in the building from 1935 to 1951. President of the company was George K. Schmidt, Ernest Schmidt was Vice President and George K. Schmidt Jr. served as secretary-treasurer. The name K. G. Schmidt came from George Sr.’ deceased son, Kasper.

George Schmidt



 

 

March 31, 1934, Logansport Pharos Tribune, page 2

SCHMIDT INAGURATES BREWING OPERATIONS
Two shifts of Wolf Construction worked every day and sometimes, when the nature of the work permitted it, gangs of men were kept on the job all night, too. The new buildings literally sprang up from the ground.

Day by day, the plant progressed closer and closer to the day when the test batch of beer could be made and the federal government notified to send their exacting inspector, a step necessary before a federal license can be issued.

Mr. Schmidt, patient but anxious to get into production, encountered some delays during the building and equipping days. It was hard to get orders filled promptly. The supply houses were swamped with business from all parts of the country. But he elected to wait when necessary rather than accept inferior equipment which might have been obtained on shorter notice.

The refrigeration equipment was built by Westerlln & Campbell. The Brew-House includes, copper brew kettle, Baudelot coolers by Atlas Copper & Brass Manufacturing Co., of Chicago, and Olsen & Tilgner Mash Tun and mill, both of which companies have for years been specialists in this line. The filtration process is taken care of by the famous Keifer filters which today are the standard of excellence, as during the many years before prohibition. The bottle plant consists of a complete Meyer Unit with a capacity of 120 bottles per minute, this includes the Meyer Dumore bottle cleaner, filler and crowner and the automatic pasteurizer. The George Meyer Manufacturing Co., of Wisconsin, who have pioneered this machinery, is known the world over. The racking room is equipped with an Atlas Copper & Brass racker. We have a deep well which gives high grade pure water for brewing.

  

I was told a couple of stories by a Logansport native named Bob Kendall. One was how Bob recalled, as a young boy, watching men go to a "spigot" at the brewery "plant" to fill their buckets with beer. Another time Bob told of how Schmidt could be found behind the building on hot summer days, sitting under a make shift tent, cooling at the Eel River, enjoying a breeze to cool himself. Because, as he reminded me, there was no air conditioning in the building nor in Schmidt's office area.

 

 

A CAN OF SCHMIDTS





 

 

 

KINNEAR CONNECTION

 



Famous actor Greg Kinnear’s maternal grandfather, Logansport businessman Richard G. Buck, of Buck-Hilkert, Inc. bought the building that housed the old brewery—twice.

 

SEPTEMBER. 17, 1951– NEWS ACCOUNT

The K. G. Schmidt brewery was sold for a second time this morning—this time at auction. Standing on the steps of the brewery with a paper in his hand in the midst of the interested crowd was Colonel Roland C. Poland, of Noblesville who conducted the sale.

The brewery was auctioned to Richard Buck and associates for $75,000. Originally Buck bought the brewery at a receiver's sale in July for $39,250. The sale was later set aside by Judge Clifford Wild in a legal contest.

The resale of the brewery was ordered by Judge Clifford O. Wild after Dewey Schmidt, one of the creditors, filed a petition, to reopen the sale and he and Fred and Lucille Drompp filed a bond guaranteeing to bid at least 10 percent more than the $39,250 for which it had been sold to Buck. Also filed in behalf of the resale was a petition by George K. Schmidt Jr., to intervene, alleging the original sale price was far too low. Buck's associates are said to be interested in obtaining the personal property, the most valuable item of which is 1,200 stainless steel beer kegs. Buck said he was still unable to say to what use the real estate would be put, but that it definitely would no longer be used as a brewery. He indicated that he intended to start a manufacturing establishment in the building.