Bozeman Brewery Historic District facts for kids

The Bozeman Brewery Historic District is a special area in Bozeman, Montana. It is located at 700–800 N. Wallace Avenue. This district includes five important buildings. All of them are connected to the Julius Lehrkind family and their old Bozeman Brewery.

Julius Lehrkind and his brother, Fred, were brewers from Germany. They moved to America to start a new life. The Lehrkind family eventually settled in Bozeman. They still run businesses in the area today. The five buildings in this historic district are:

• the remains of the four-story brick brewery, built in 1895
• the beautiful Julius Lehrkind Mansion, built in 1897 in the Queen Anne style
• the home of Julius's nephew, Henry Lehrkind, built around 1908
• the home of Julius's son, Edwin Lehrkind, built in 1912 in the bungalow style
• a one-story brick bottling plant, built in 1925

The three homes are grouped together at the south end of the district. The two industrial buildings are at the north end, across the street from each other. The Julius Lehrkind Mansion is the most important building in the district. The other four buildings also help make the district special.

The Lehrkind Family Story

Julius Lehrkind was a German immigrant. He came to America in 1860 when he was 17 years old. He hid on a ship to avoid joining the German army. When he arrived in New York, he didn't speak English. He struggled to find work for about a year.

Julius had experience brewing beer in Germany. He eventually found a job at a brewery in Philadelphia. In 1868, he received some money from his father. He then moved to Davenport, Iowa, to open a brewery. His brother, Fred, who came to America with him, joined him.

Julius married Emelie Lambach and they had six children. Fred married Emelie's sister, Bertha, and they had four children. Sadly, Fred and Bertha died young. Julius and Emelie then took care of all their children. Emelie passed away in 1897. Julius later married Emelie's niece, Lina Lambach, in 1899. They had one son together. Julius died in 1922. The Lehrkind family has always been active in helping their local community.

The Bozeman Brewery

Julius sold his brewery in Iowa and moved to Bozeman in March 1895. He brought his large family and skilled brewers with him. That same year, he bought the Spieth and Krug Brewery. He moved it to the north side of town and renamed it the Bozeman Brewery.

Julius chose Bozeman because it had excellent water. It also had a lot of barley nearby. Dutch farmers in Manhattan, Montana, grew this barley. The brewery was the biggest building in Bozeman until 1957. That's when the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse opened at Montana State University. People often called the brewery "Lehrkind's Genuine Lager Brewery."

The brewery had three wells underneath it, one as deep as 200 feet (61 m). These wells provided water for brewing. Much of the building was torn down when Prohibition started. Prohibition was a time when making and selling alcohol was against the law. During this time, the Lehrkinds ran the Lehrkind Coal and Pure Ice Company from the building.

When Prohibition ended in 1932, Edwin Lehrkind brewed "Old Faithful" beer there for a short time. Later, the building was used as a creamery. It was also a music recording studio.

The brewery building was made of brick and concrete. Its window frames were made of sandstone and wood. The Lehrkind Mansion has small BB pellets in its walls. This is because Julius and his grandson used to hunt mice with BB guns inside! The mansion is built in the Queen Anne style. It has Douglas-fir wood floors, a round tower, and large windows. Henry's and Edwin's homes are south of the mansion. Henry's home is 1.5 stories tall and has an unusual shape. Edwin's home is also 1.5 stories tall and has a rectangular shape with a front gable.

Other Family Businesses

Soon after opening his brewery in 1895, Julius Lehrkind also started a soft drink business. He made drinks like sarsaparilla and lemon soda. In 1914, he was given the local Coca-Cola franchise. This meant he could bottle and sell Coca-Cola in the area.

The brewery closed when Prohibition began in 1919. However, the Coca-Cola business is still running today. It is known as Lehrkind's Coca-Cola Bottling. The Coca-Cola bottling plant was designed by Fred F. Willson. He was told to build it as cheaply as possible. Willson also designed Eagle's Store in West Yellowstone, Montana. That building is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lehrkind also opened another brewery in Silesia, Montana, in 1899. In 1910, he opened the Red Lodge Brewery in Red Lodge, Montana. Its beer was called "Montana Bud."

When the Lehrkind Mansion was first built, it had only one bathroom. Thirteen family members and one servant lived there! The family chose this location because it was close to the Northern Pacific Railway train station. Today, the Lehrkind Mansion is a bed and breakfast. It has also been a motorcycle repair shop, an antique shop, an apartment building, and a band practice studio.