More on the Westchester County Brewing Company that Operated in Pelham Before Prohibition

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Few realize that the extensive parking area behind the Village Hall building of the Village of Pelham on Sparks Avenue once was the site of a massive beer brewery, refrigeration stock house, and ice manufacturing facility operated by the Westchester County Brewing Company (often also referred to as the Westchester Brewing Company and, occasionally, as "Westchester Brewery").  The brewery operated from 1910 until about the beginning of Prohibition when it became a full-time ice manufacturing facility.

The brewery, stock house, and ice facility once was located along the Hutchinson River near Sparks Avenue in an area where, today, Tiffany & Co. (and other businesses) have back office operations.  In late 1909 and early 1910, that area was desolate and low-lying.  There were virtually no residences in the area except for a few homes (and businesses) along Wolf's Lane.  The brewery and ice facility was completed in about May, 1910.  The business had its "Office and Bottling Dept." located across the Hutchinson River in Mount Vernon.  Thus, the business often was referenced as the Westchester County Brewing Company of Mount Vernon, though its main plant was located in the Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights). 

Detail from 1914 Bromley Map With "WESTCHESTER BREWING CO."

Shown in Upper Left Quadrant of Detail Between Sparks Avenue and the

New Haven Main Line.   Source:  "Pelham and New Rochelle" in G. W. 

Bromley & Co., Atlas of Westchester County, N.Y. Pocket, Desk and

Automobile Edition, Vol. I, pp. 124-25 (NY, NY:  G. W. Bromley & Co.,

1914).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written before about the history of the Westchester County Brewing Company.  See Wed., Jan. 07, 2015:  Westchester County Brewing Company Operated in Pelham Before Prohibition. Today's Historic Pelham Blog article documents additional research regarding the history of the company, its founders, and its facility in the Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights).  The focus of the research presented today is the serious set of financial difficulties faced by the business and its founders from its inception.

Early 20th Century Wooden Advertising Sign for the

Westchester County Brewing Company.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

There were two principal founders of the Westchester County Brewing Company:  William H. Ebling, Jr. of Pelham Heights who became President of the Company and William O. Hobby of Mount Vernon who became President after Ebling's untimely death.  In the months leading up to the completion of the main facility and its opening, the pair touted the new business as a sure "bonanza" and sold stock in the venture to investors throughout Westchester County and New York City.  

Although the United States economy was healthy in 1910, Ebling and Hobby over-extended themselves and their new business with debt at precisely the time the U.S. Economy moved from a twenty-year-period of rapid growth to a twenty-year-period of modest growth.  Indeed, the period from 1890 to 1910, generally, was one of economic growth in excess of 4%.  Beginning in 1910, however, there was a break as economic growth in the U.S. slowed to about 2.8% from 1910 to 1929.  The combination of slowing economic growth and too much debt turned out to be too much for the new business and its founders.

Indeed, financial strain may have played some role in the death of William H. Ebling, Jr.  He died "suddenly" on December 8, 1910, only seven months after the Westchester County Brewing Company opened its new facility near his home in Pelham Heights.  

In less than a year, the new business was in trouble.  On September 12, 1911, bankruptcy proceedings were commenced as a voluntary petition for dissolution of the business was filed.  In reality, the bankruptcy was merely a move to fend off creditors.  There were more than twenty lawsuits pending against the company at the time of filing with some nearing judgment.  According to one news account:

"The application was made because of the financial difficulties the corporation is in, and is preparatory to an application for a voluntary dissolution of the corporation.  It was also made to forestall having the plant and property levied on under judgments, as about twenty suits are now pending against the company, and have almost gone to judgment.  The bonded indebtedness of the company is secured by a mortgage for $250,000 held by the Empire Trust Company of New York to protect the bond holders.  There is due to different persons and corporations on promissory notes, the sum of $145,175.20, and for other debts and liabilities the sum of $95,496.87.  As against this immense debt, the corporation owns property buildings, plant, office furnishings, horses, wagons, harness, auto trucks and stock on hand valued at $395,568.20.  There are 114 stockholders of the corporation, scattered throughout Westchester County, New York City and in nearby Connecticut towns."

As the proceedings dragged along, the brewery continued to operate under receivers including William O. Hobby (the remaining living founder).  Hobby's own financial situation, however, grew increasingly bleak.  In March, 1915, Hobby filed for personal bankruptcy.  An account in the New York Times made clear how dire his situation had become.  It stated:

"WILLIAM O. HOBBY of Mount Vernon has filed a petition in bankruptcy, with liabilities of $182,664 and no available assets.  He has 1,000 shares of stock of the Westchester County Brewery, 720 shares Wauregan Hotel Company, 200 Elk Creek Oil and Gas Company, and 20 Mount Vernon National Bank, all of which are put in as of no value.  Most of his liabilities are for endorsing notes of the Westchester County Brewery, against which concern a petition in bankruptcy was filed here on Sept. 12, 1911.  William Hobby was President of the Company, and was also appointed one of the receivers for it.  Among his creditors are Philip Tillinghast, receiver of the Mount Vernon National Bank, $27,852; Mount Vernon Trust Company, $7,451; First National Bank of Jamaica, $4,184; Trustees of the First National Bank of Oneonta, $9,3331; Bollinger Brothers, Pittsburgh, $49,000; Frick Company, Waynesboro, Penn., $22,000, and Liberty Brewing Company, $6,631." 
 

 

Example of Beer Bottle of the "WESTCHESTER COUNTY BREWING

COMPANY" of  "MOUNT VERNON, N.Y." With Close-Up of the

Embossed Medallion of the Bottle Immediately Below.  NOTE:  Click

on Image to Enlarge.

By the late Teens, with Prohibition looming, officials of the Westchester County Brewery Company negotiated a sale of the Pelham Heights facility off Sparks Avenue to the Knickerbocker Ice Company, a supplier of ice to lower Westchester County.  In 1933, as Prohibition came to a close, there were brief efforts to reinstate a brewery on the site, although Village building inspectors halted the work.  At least two lawsuits followed with one of those suits eventually resulting in a decision to relocate the proposed brewery elsewhere. 

*          *          *          *          *
 
"Wm. H. Ebling

Attended by many people of prominence from Pelham Heights, Pelham, New York and Philadelphia, and by the Mount Vernon Lodge of Elks, the funeral services of William H. Ebling, Jr., President of the Westchester County Brewery, who died suddenly on December 8th, were held on December 12th, at Pelham Heights, N. Y.

The services were conducted by the Rev. H. H. Brown, the rector of the Church of the Redeemer, in Pelham.  Following came the ritualistic burial service of the Elks, which was conducted by the Exalted Ruler Robert R. Kallman and the officers of the lodge.  Mr. Williams, of the Mount Vernon Lodge, sang 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' and 'The Vacant Chair.'

The floral tributes were numerous and beautiful.  The honorary pallbearers were F. F. Ballinger, of Pittsburgh, Pa., Sidney A. Syme, Leon St. C. Dick, John L. Fee, E. J. Farrell, Charles Wintermeyer, Henry Muck, and William Hobby.  The body was placed in a receiving vault in Woodlawn temporarily.

Among those in attendance at the funeral were:  Edward, Harry and C. Schmidt, of Philadelphia; from New York:  Mr. and Mrs. Peter Doger, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zoller, M. Zoller, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Heabler, Charles Warner, secretary of the Brewers' exchange; Louis Heidenheimer and Harry E. Rauch.  Many in the list are prominent brewers."

Source:  Wm. H. Ebling, The American Bottler, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, p. 63 (NY, NY:  Jan. 15, 1911).  

"TWO RECEIVERS NOW ACTING FOR THE BREWERY CO.
-----
William Hobby and Leo Oppenheimer are Appointed in the Bankruptcy Proceedings by Judge Hough.
-----
ANOTHER DECISION IN THIS LITIGATION NOW
-----
Proceedings Yesterday -- Bonds Fixed at $10,000 Each -- Status Is Now of Federal Jurisdiction -- What the Attorneys Say.
-----

Judge Hough yesterday named Leo Oppenheimer, of No. 60 Wall street, New York, and William Hobby, of Mount Vernon, receivers in bankruptcy for the Westchester county brewery.  On whose application the receivers were appointed does not seem to be agreed upon as Moos, Princ and Nathan, of New York, who represent a number of creditors, claim that the appointment was made on their application while Judge Syme for the brewery corporation, says it was on their application.  The bond of the receivers was fixed at $10,000 each.

It was stated at the office of Moose, Princ and Nathan this morning by Attorney Princ that in answer to the application made before Judge Hough that the Westchester county brewery be declared in bankruptcy last week, Receiver Hobby, through
-----
(Continued on page 13.)

TWO RECEIVERS NOW ACTING FOR THE BREWERY CO.
-----
(Continued From Page One)
-----

Attorney Syme denied that the brewery was insolvent -- and denied that the petition of creditors who made the application were creditors of the Westchester county brewery.

As such an answer was filed with Judge Hough, Moos, Prince and Nathan secured an order to show cause which was returnable Monday as to why the answer of the Westchester county brewery should not be stricken -- out, on the ground that it was 'false, a sham and frivolous and interpose for the purpose of delay.'  When argument were heard on this order to show cause Monday, Moos, Princ and Nathan presented to the court a certified copy of the proceedings in the supreme court of voluntary dissolution proceedings of the brewery, which showed that the brewery was insolvent.  Other facts were brought out about the proceedings and Judge Hough ordered that the answer be stricken out and declared the Westchester county brewery to be in bankruptcy.

After that an application was made to the court that two receivers be appointed in bankruptcy for the brewery and Judge Hough made the appointments yesterday as already told.

Mr. Princ was asked this morning why it was that he requested that Mr. Hobby be appointed a receiver with Mr. Oppenheimer when in the original application he had asked for the removal of Mr. Hobby and the appointment of a receiver to take his place.  Mr. Princ said that the thought that it would be well to have Mr. Hobby retained in view of the fact that he was familiar with the business and it would be better for the creditors to have him appointed to act with somebody else.  

Judge Hough refused to appoint a receiver on September 15 but it was afterward found that money had to be raised to pay for the licenses of customers on October 1 and that it was necessary to have a receiver to do this.  Judge Hough yesterday allowed the receivers to issue certificates for $47,800 to be a first lien on the assets ahead of the mortgages.  Of this amount $34,300 is to be issued to be used solely to pay the liquor tax certificates $13,500 is to be held in a trust company as security for any damages that may arise to the non-assenting bondholders.

Judge Syme, as counsel, for Mr. Hobby when seen this morning denied that Judge Hough appointed the receivers on the application of the New York attorneys.  He declared that Mr. Hobby went before Judge Hough yesterday and stated that he was unable to get any money from the local banks on receiver's certificates and so it was necessary for him to get the money in New York.  He said that such a step would be necessary to keep the business; if it was not done it would have to close.  He declared that Judge Hough consequently appointed Mr. Oppenheimer and Mr. Hobby as receivers.  '''This appointment really makes Mr. Hobby's position -- stronger than it was before,' said Judge Syme this morning.  We beat those New York lawyers in their application to have Mr. Hobby removed and we obtained the money an hour after the appointment was made.'  

The receivers were given authority by the court to carry on the business for thirty days."

Source:  TWO RECEIVERS NOW ACTING FOR THE BREWERY CO -- William Hobby and Leo Oppenheimer are Appointed in the Bankruptcy Proceedings by Judge Hough-- ANOTHER DECISION IN THIS LITIGATION NOW -- Proceedings Yesterday -- Bonds Fixed at $10,000 Each -- Status Is Now of Federal Jurisdiction -- What the Attorneys Say, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 29, 1911, No. 6653, p. 1, col. 3 & p. 13, col. 1.

"Hobby Brewery in Bankruptcy
-----
276 Claims, 32 Notes and Several Contracts Unpaid.

Greatly to the surprise of everyone who heard of it, Justice Tomkins this morning appointed William Hobby of Mount Vernon, as temporary receiver of the Westchester Brewery of Mount Vernon, on the application of the Board of Directors of the institution.  Mr. Hobby immediately qualified by filing a bond for $30,000 and takes charge at once.

The Westchester Brewery stock was sold about the county and 114 invested in it.  One of the heaviest of the local investors was Henry Fulle.  Mr. Fulle served the Westchester beer at his hotel and it is quite popular there.  

The directors are:  William Hobby, Sydney A. Syme, C. Davies Tinter, William M. N. Eglenton and Henry Fulle.

When the stock was being sold the scheme was held forth as a bonanza.  There would be a refrigerator, cold storage and ice making plant in connection with it.  Stockholders from White Plains are Chas F. Armbruster, two shares; Henry Fulle, ten shares; I. V. Fowler, five shares; C. D. Horton, seven shares.  There are 276 claimants, besides 32 notes.  Hobby claims $30,000 for services as manager.

What Financial Difficulties Are. 

The application was made because of the financial difficulties the corporation is in, and is preparatory to an application for a voluntary dissolution of the corporation.  It was also made to forestall having the plant and property levied on under judgments, as about twenty suits are now pending against the company, and have almost gone to judgment.  The bonded indebtedness of the company is secured by a mortgage for $250,000 held by the Empire Trust Company of New York to protect the bond holders.  There is due to different persons and corporations on promissory notes, the sum of $145,175.20, and for other debts and liabilities the sum of $95,496.87.  As against this immense debt, the corporation owns property buildings, plant, office furnishings, horses, wagons, harness, auto trucks and stock on hand valued at $395,568.20.  There are 114 stockholders of the corporation, scattered throughout Westchester County, New York City and in nearby Connecticut towns.

The Justice has also appointed Arthur Rowland, of Yonkers, as Referee and has directed that notice be given to all creditors of the corporation to show cause before Mr. Rowland at his office in Yonkers on October 27 next at 3 p.m. why the corporation should not be dissolved. -- Westchester Co. Reporter, Sept. 1."

Source:  Hobby Brewery in Bankruptcy -- 276 Claims, 32 Notes and Several Contracts Unpaid, New Rochelle Pioneer, Sep. 9, 1911, Vol. 53, No. 24, p. 3, col. 7.


"BUSINESS TROUBLES.
-----
Receivers for the Westchester County Brewery Will Protect Liquor Licenses.

Judge Hough yesterday appointed Leo Oppenheimer of 60 Wall street and William Hobby of Mount Vernon receivers in bankruptcy for the Westchester County Brewery of Mount Vernon.  They are authorized to carry on the business for thirty days.  Judge Hough allows the receivers to issue receivers' certificates for $47,800 to be a first lien on the assets ahead of the mortgages.  Of this amount $34,300 is to be issued for cash, to be used solely to pay liquor tax certificates for customers, and $13,500 is to be held in a trust company as security for any damage that may arise to the non-assenting bondholders. . . ."

Source:  BUSINESS TROUBLES-- Receivers for the Westchester County Brewery Will Protect Liquor Licenses, The Sun [NY, NY], Sep. 29, 1911, p. 13, col. 5.  

"BUSINESS TROUBLES. . . .

WILLIAM O. HOBBY of Mount Vernon has filed a petition in bankruptcy, with liabilities of $182,664 and no available assets.  He has 1,000 shares of stock of the Westchester County Brewery, 720 shares Wauregan Hotel Company, 200 Elk Creek Oil and Gas Company, and 20 Mount Vernon National Bank, all of which are put in as of no value.  Most of his liabilities are for endorsing notes of the Westchester County Brewery, against which concern a petition in bankruptcy was filed here on Sept. 12, 1911.  William Hobby was President of the Company, and was also appointed one of the receivers for it.  Among his creditors are Philip Tillinghast, receiver of the Mount Vernon National Bank, $27,852; Mount Vernon Trust Company, $7,451; First National Bank of Jamaica, $4,184; Trustees of the First National Bank of Oneonta, $9,3331; Bollinger Brothers, Pittsburgh, $49,000; Frick Company, Waynesboro, Penn., $22,000, and Liberty Brewing Company, $6,631."

Source:  BUSINESS TROUBLES. . . .  WILLIAM O. HOBBY, N.Y. Times, Mar. 24, 1915, Vol. LXIV, No. 20,878, p. 16, col. 3.

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Obituaries of Reginald Pelham Bolton, a Former Pelham Resident and an Historian with a Love for Pelham

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Reginald Pelham Bolton was a grandson of the Rev. Robert Bolton, founder of Christ Church and builder of the Priory in Pelham Manor, a home that still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Reginald Pelham Bolton was a resident of Pelham in the latter decades of the nineteenth century, but later moved to New York City where he died in 1942.  I have written before about one-time Pelham resident Reginald Pelham Bolton.  See, e.g., Thu., Jan. 10, 2008:  Brief Biography of Reginald Pelham Bolton, Local Historian.

Reginald Pelham Bolton in 1913.

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

Reginald Pelham Bolton was born on October 5, 1856 in Kilburn, an area of northwest London, England.  He was a son of James Bolton and Lydia Louisa Pym Bolton.  He studied as a young man in England to become a civil engineer.  In 1878, he married Ethelind Huyck in Sussex, England.  The couple had two children:  Guy Bolton and Ivy Bolton.  

Ethelind Huyk Bolton and Reginald Pelham

Bolton in an Undated Photograph.  NOTE:

Click Image to Enlarge.

Reginald Pelham Bolton with His Children,

Ivy Bolton and Guy Bolton in an Undated

Phtograph.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

In 1879, Reginald and Ethelind Bolton moved to Pelham, New York.  While residing in Pelham, Reginald assisted his uncle, the Rev. Cornelius Winter Bolton, who was rector of the Church of the Redeemer in North Pelham, with the revision of a second edition of the Bolton History of Westchester, which had been written by another of Reginald's uncles, Robert Bolton, Jr., another son of the founder of the Christ Church and the Priory in Pelham Manor.  Reginald Pelham Bolton and his family lived for a time in a small home on Sparks Avenue that later became the Village Hall of the Village of Pelham (i.e., Pelham Heights).  

At about the turn of the 20th century, Reginald Pelham Bolton and his family moved from Pelham and settled nearby in Washington Heights at what is now 638 West 158th Street.  By this time, Bolton was known as a noted consulting civil engineer and an avid amateur archaeologist and local historian.  His principal hobby became a study of Native Americans in the New York region.  He spent years trying to sort out colonial records suggesting the interrelationships among the many groups of Native Americans that once inhabited the region.  

Reginald Pelham Bolton was a prolific author who wrote a host of books, booklets, and published articles regarding local history.  As a consequence, he became a Life Member of the New-York Historical Society and of the Museum of the American Museum, Heye Foundation (now part of the Smithsonian Institution).  He also was a member of the Westchester County Historical Society who wrote a number of articles on Pelham history published in the Society's Journal.  He also served as Vice President of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society and of the City History Club (of New York City).

Reginald Pelham Bolton at an Excavation Site.

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

Reginald Pelham Bolton died in his home at 638 West 158th Street in Washington Heights, the Bronx, on Wednesday, February 18, 1942.  His wife, Ethelind, died on December 29, 1945.  Both were cremated in the Ferncliff Cemetery crematorium in Hartsdale, New York.  Their ashes are at Beechwoods Cemetery in New Rochelle, adjacent to the Town of Pelham border.

For a more extensive biography of Reginald Pelham Bolton including a more extensive discussion of his archaelogical excavations and references to many of his publications, see Reemer, James, REGINALD PELHAM BOLTON (visited Sep. 7, 2015).

"Reginald Pelham Bolton, Historian Grandson Of Founder of Priory And Christ Church Died On Wednesday
-----

Reginald Pelham Bolton, grandson of the founder of Bolton Priory and noted authority on Pelham and Westchester history, died on Wednesday at his home, No. 638 West 158th street, New York City.  Mr. Bolton was 85 years old.

He was born in England, the son of the Rev. James Bolton and Lydia Louisa Bolton.  His father was the son of the Rev. Robert Bolton, who established Christ's Church and built the Priory in Pelham Manor.  In his youth James Bolton had assisted his father in the construction of the church.  Reginald Bolton came to America in 1879 and took great pride in the Bolton family tradition and the church in Pelham Manor where he attended for many years.  He lived in Pelham Heights forty years ago and the church was the scene of his wedding.  

During Mr. Bolton's life in Pelham he assisted his uncle, the Rev. Cornelius Winter Bolton, who was rector of the Church of the Redeemer, in North Pelham, with the revision of a second edition of the Bolton History of Westchester, which had been written by Robert Bolton, another son of the founder of the church.  The latter was the father of Miss Arabella Bolton, now residing in Pelham Manor.

Regionald Pelham Bolton was also the author of several historical articles about the Pelhams and Christ Church, which have been published by the Westchester County Historical Association [sic].

Mr. Bolton was also an authority on the history of New York and for many years he was engaged in excavating for relics of the Colonial period in the Inwood section of New York City, both privately and as a member of the New York Historical Society.  He was chairman of a committee of the Washington Heights Taxpayers Assocation, leading a successful fight in 1931 to prevent the demolition of the John James Audubon home at Riverside Drive and 155th street.

Mr. Bolton was a consulting engineer by profession and was president and chairman of the board of the Electric Motor Corporation, 116 East 19th street.

Surviving are the widow, Mrs. Ethelind Bolton; a daughter, Sister Mercedes of the Protestant Episcopal Community of St. Mary in Peekskill; and a son, Guy Bolton, who is a playwright.

The funeral service will be held tomorrow at the Chapel of the Intercession, 155th street and Broadway, New York City.  Cremation will follow."

Source:  Reginald Pelham Bolton, Historian Grandson Of Founder of Priory And Christ Church Died On Wednesday, The Pelham Sun, Feb. 20, 1942, Vol. 31, No. 47, p. 4, cols. 1-2.  

"REGINALD PELHAM BOLTON
-----

In the passing of Reginald Pelham Bolton on Wednesday, Pelham lost one whose name was inseparably associated with the history of our town.  Although he had lived for many years in the city of New York his interest was keen for Pelham.  It was his grandfather, Robert Bolton, who came to Pelham.  It was his grandfather, Robert Bolton, who came to Pelham and built the Priory at Shore Road and Pelhamdale avenue, the real manor house of Pelham to which came Washington Irving to discuss literature and events of the day.

Reginald Pelham Bolton was born in 1857 [sic] in England.  His father had returned to his native land.  Reginald Pelham Bolton, came to Pelham when he was 22 years of age.  He lived for several years on Sparks avenue in the building which afterward became the Village Hall of the Village of Pelham.  He was a familiar figure on the street with his big Newfoundland dog accompanying him.

Possessing the literary talents that were natural accomplishments of the Boltons he aided greatly in compiling the History of Westchester County which can be found in public libraries as the accepted authority on the subject.  His hobby was Indian history.  He delighted in discoveries of Indian relics and spent much time in determining their origin and developing their probable history.  He achieved fame as a consulting engineer and his services were in demand in many parts of the world.

Although the Reginald Bolton family departed from Pelham about the beginning of the century, Reginald's wide knowledge of the early days of Pelham was often sought by Pelham residents eager to know history of various places.  He numbered among his close friends, William R. Montgomery, Town Historian of Pelham.  The latter quite frequently acknowledged the assistance which Mr. Bolton rendered in furnishing data for papers dealing with the history of Pelham."

Source:  REGINALD PELHAM BOLTON, The Pelham Sun, Feb. 20, 1942, Vol. 31, No. 47, p. 2, cols. 1-2.  

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Westchester County Brewing Company Operated in Pelham Before Prohibition

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Earlier this week, I spotted an eBay auction offering a beer tray advertising beer brewed by the "Westchester County Brewing Company" of "Pelham, N.Y."  An image of the tray, showing a scene entitled "The Cockfight," appears below.  (Notice the reference to Pelham on the beer case behind the two men.)  

Advertising Beer Tray:  Westchester County Brewing Company,

Pelham, N.Y. Depicting "The Cockfight"

The story of the brewery and ice manufacturing facility operated, in part, in Pelham by the Westchester County Brewing Company (often also referred to as the Westchester Brewing Company and, occasionally, as "Westchester Brewery") is quite interesting.  The brewery once was located along the Hutchinson River near Sparks Avenue in an area where, today, Tiffany & Co. has back office operations and a large parking lot behind in the area behind Pelham Village Hall.

In late 1909 and early 1910, that area was desolate and low-lying; it was adjacent to the Hutchinson River.  There were virtually no residences in the area except for a few homes (and businesses) along Wolf's Lane.  The map below, published in 1910, shows the area only months after construction of the new brewery and ice manufacturing plant was completed in May, 1910.  

Detail from 1910 Map Showing Location of the Westchester

County Brewery Company Ice Manufacturing

Plant Denoted as "HYGEIA ICE CO." on Upper Right.  Source:

"Map of the Town and Village of Pelham" (Plate 18) in G. W.

Bromley & Co., Atlas of Westchester County, New York, Vol. I

(Philadelphia, PA:  G. W. Bromley & Co. 1910).  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

According to one source published at the time the brewery and ice manufacturing plant was being built:

"NEW BREWERY AT MT. VERNON, N. Y.
-----

Plans have been completed and contracts let for the erection of a brewery near Mt. Vernon, N. Y., which is a northern suburb of New York City, just above the Westchester county line.  The plant is being erected by the Westchester County Brewery, recently incorporated for $400,000 and formed on the co-operative principle.

The officers and directors of the company are as follows:

President, Gen'l Geo. O. Eaton, of New York City.
Vice-president, Wm. H. Ebling, Jr., of Pelham, New York.
Treasurer, Wm. Hobby, of Mount Vernon, New York.
Directors:  The above officers and Judge Sydney A. Syme, of Mt. Vernon, New York.

The offices of the company are at present located at 21-25 Prospect Ave., Mt. Vernon, and the brewery is being erected on the line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R., near that town.

The brewery will have an annual capacity upwards of 50,000 barrels, ale, porter and lager, and is being erected from plans of Bollinger Bros., the well known brewery architects and engineers of Pittsburgh, who are also the general contractors for the equipment of same.  Construction work was begun December 27 [1909] and it is contemplated to have the plant ready for operation by May 1.

The buildings will be entirely of brick, steel, stone and concrete construction.  The roofs will be of reinforced concrete.  There will be no wood whatever used in the construction except window frames and door-ways.  The plant will be equipped with two 125-ton tandem compound condensing engines, driving ice machines; two 75 K.W. direct connected generators, with compound condensing generator engine; and all machinery throughout will be motor-driven direct-connected. 

The boiler-house will have two 264-H.P. water tube boilers.  The brewhouse equipment will be 200-barrel net capacity, copper steam brewing kettle, etc.  The ice plant will be 100-ton daily capacity, using the center freeze plate system.  This system will make cakes of ice weighing six tons, which will be sawed by electric driven saws into cakes of 300 pounds each."

Source:  "NEW BREWERY AT MT. VERNON, N. Y." in The Western Brewer:  and Journal of the Barley, Malt and Hop Trades, Vol. 35, No. 1, p. 16 cols. 1-2 (Jan. 15, 1910).

"NEW BREWERY BEING ERECTED BY THE WESTCHESTER

COUNTY BREWERY, OF MT. VERNON, N. Y., BOLLINGER

BROS., PITTSBURG, ARCHITECTS."  An Artist's Rendering

of the Brewery and Ice Manufacturing Plant the Under Construction.

Source:  "NEW BREWERY AT MT. VERNON, N. Y." in

The Western Brewer:  and Journal of the Barley, Malt and Hop Trades,

Vol. 35, No. 1, p. 16 cols. 1-2 (Jan. 15, 1910).  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

Laminated Wood Advertising Sign for Westchester

County Brewing Company Depicting the Structure Shortly

After it Was Completed in May, 1910.

The company included ice manufacturing at its Pelham location because the population of the New York metropolitan region was becoming increasingly concerned with the safety and quality of so-called "natural ice" cut from frozen rivers and lakes.  The Westchester County Brewing Company created the brand of "Hygeia Ice" and marketed it as manufactured from safe water taken from Artesian wells tapped near its Pelham location.  The company's advertising touted its ice as "artificially made" and "absolutely free of impurities; while natural ice is largely a potential cause of typhoid and similar ailments."  (See advertisements below.)

As an aside, the company's touting of its "safe" Artesian well water ice was an advertising master stroke.  Although the Artesian wells were sunk on the company's property, the company did not drill all of those wells.  Rather, at least six were drilled by the City of Mount Vernon in an effort to replenish the drinking water held in the Pelham Reservoir after a frightening and difficult drought the year before.  See CITY WILL SINK SIX ARTESIAN WELLS TO FEED SUPPLY IN PELHAM RESERVOIR, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 29, 1911, p. 1, cols. 4-5.  It seems, however, that as demand for Hygeia ice grew, the need for Artesian well water did as well.  At least twenty-six artesian wells were drilled on the property of the brewery.  One reference noted:  

"A Plant Sufficient to Supply County With Ice.
-----

The Westchester County Brewing Company, of Mount Vernon, expect to manufacture daily sufficient ice to supply the demand of this county with its population approaching 300,000 and to deliver the same by automobile to customers desiring a hygienic product.  The company has one [of] the most perfect ice manufacturing plant[s] in the United States.  Their water supply consists of twenty-six artesian wells which furnish an inexhaustible flow of absolutely pure water."

Source:  A Plant Sufficient to Supply County With Ice, Westchester County Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 1, p. 9 (Apr. 1911).

Extremely Rare, Only Known Example of a Beer Stamp with

Possible Tie to the Westchester County Brewing Company; Stamp

Sold at Auction in 2006 for $16,000.00.  The Stamp Contains

a Perforated Cancel that Reads "WCBCo. +9+3-18" Which May 

Reference Either the Westchester County Brewing Company, Pelham,

N.Y., or the Watertown Consumer's Brewing Company, Watertown, N.Y.

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

Although somewhat sparse, there are some records regarding the nature of the equipment contained in the facility built in Pelham by the Westchester County Brewing Company.  In addition to the brief description quoted above and published at the time the plant was being built, there are a few additional clues from period publications.  For example, according to one source published in January, 1910:  

"Westchester County Brewery, being erected on the line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R., between New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon, and near the latter town, has awarded contract for the equipment of same through Bollinger Bros., the architects.  The brew house equipment, a 200-barrel outfit complete, will be furnished by the Goetz & Flodin Mfg. Co., of Chicago, and the refrigerating machinery by the Frick Co., of Waynesboro, Pa.  The latter company will install a complete plant for the production of 100 tons of ice daily on the center freeze plate system."

Source:  "New Plants & Improvements. . . NEW YORK" in The Western Brewer:  and Journal of the Barley, Malt and Hop Trades, Vol. 35, No. 1, p. 26 & p. 28, cols. 1-2 (Jan. 15, 1910).  

It also appears that by early 1911, there were plans to install a Blitz-Blank filter at the brewery.  See "Building Operations and Improvements" in American Brewers' Review, Vol. XXV, No. 2, p. 57 & p. 58, col. 1 (Feb. 1, 1911) ("NEW YORK. . . . Pelham.--The Westchester County Brewing Co. will install a Blitz-Blank filter.").  Similarly, a trade publication issued in 1912 indicated that the Eureka Machine Company of Cleveland, Ohio had sold to the Westchester County Brewing Company "Single and Duplex Branders, Bilge Brands and Attachments."  See "TRADE ITEMS - EUREKA MACHINE CO." in The Western Brewer:  and Journal of the Barley, Matl and Hop Trades, Vol. 38, No. 4, p. 197, col. 2 (Apr. 15, 1912).  

Likewise, by 1915, the brewery installed a "120-ton flooded freezing system and distilling system, furnished by the York Mfg. Co., of York, Pa."  See "New Plants and Improvements" in The Western Brewer:   and Journal of the Barley, Malt and Hop Trades, Vol. 44, No. 2, p. 78, col. 2 (Feb. 15, 1915).

Both the brewery and the ice manufacturing plant operated successfully for nearly a decade.  Period records and news reports reflect deliveries of the breweries products throughout Westchester.  

During World War I, however, President Woodrow Wilson was given the authority to halt the brewing of beer to conserve foodstuffs.  He invoked that power.  Shortly afterward, the Westchester County Brewing Company sold its brewery to the Knickerbocker Ice Company, although a subsidiary of the Westchester County Brewing Company continued to use part of the brewery building for the manufacture of lactic acid until 1921 or 1922.  

According to one account:

"The present structure near Sparks Avenue was built in 1910 by the Westchester County Brewing Company and was designed as an ice plant in part and a brewery in part.  It was subsequently operated by that Company, chiefly as a brewery.  In 1918, the operation of the brewery having become unprofitable, it was discontinued and abandoned voluntarily.

In 1919, the Westchester County Brewing Company sold and conveyed the premises to the Knickerbocker Ice Company which adapted and used the property for the manufacture of icce, and the Westchester County Brewing Company removed from the premises all brewing equipment and machinery.  Upon their sale to the Knickerbocker Ice Company, the premises were described in the contract as 'formerly a brewery.'  For a time after 1919, under an arrangement with the ice company, the Westchester Chemical Company manufactured lactic acid in a part of the premises, but this was voluntarily discontinued in 1921.  Meanwhile, at the beginning of 1920, more than a year after the use of the property as a brewery had been voluntarily discontinued by the then owner, the Eighteenth Amendment became effective.

In the zoning ordinance of the village [then the Village of Pelham, known today as Pelham Heights] enacted in 1921 and 1924, and adopted in their present form in 1928, the property of the Knickerbocker Ice Company has been in the district zoned for residential uses only.  Brewing and bottling works are prohibited in even the business district along Wolf's lane."

Source:  BRIEFS ORDERED IN INJUNCTION SUIT OF BREWERY, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 16, 1933, p. 1, col. 3 & p. 8, cols. 4-6.  

Another article published in the New Rochelle Pioneer on January 4, 1919 described the process of selling the brewery facilitated to the Knickerbocker Ice Company.  It read as follows:

"Brewery To Become Ice Plant?
-----

Negotiations for the purchase of the Westchester Brewing Company's plant in North Pelham by the Knickerbocker Ice Company are pending and the deal will likely be consummated within a short time.

The purpose for which the plant will be used is to manufacture ice for consumers in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle and their environs, according to the Mount Vernon Daily Argus.  While persons interested in the transaction declined to discuss the price, it is said that the plant is placed at $200,000.

For several days there have been reports to the effect that the sale of the brewing company's property was contemplated, Wesley M. Oler, president of the Knickerbocker Company, stated that his company had signed a contract to buy the North Pelham plant, subject to clear titles, etc.  The time set in which to consummate the deal extends to January 6.  It was said that this transaction had not been completed as yet.  The Knickerbocker Ice Company has been furnishing considerable natural ice to people of the southern part of Westchester county, but there has become a profound preference for artificial ice.  The company being desirous of conforming with the consumers' wants, concluded, it is said that it would be advantageous to locate at the North Pelham plant for the purpose of manufacturing ice there for this section.  

There is an ice manufacturing equipment in the brewing company's plant and the Knickerbocker concern has frequently bought ice made there and distributed it in this vicinity."

Source:  Brewery To Become Ice Plant?, New Rochelle Pioneer, Jan. 4, 1919, p. 6, col. 2.

During the Roaring Twenties, the nature of the area around Sparks Avenue changed dramatically.  The population surged and more residences dotted the area.  In recognition of such changes, the Village of Pelham (today's Pelham Heights) enacted and amended the zoning ordinances referenced above in an effort to preserve the budding residential character of the area, even though the Knickerbocker Ice Company plant was grandfathered and permitted to operate despite the new ordinances.  
In 1933, as Prohibition came to a close, a company known as the "Metropolis Brewing Company" leased a part of the Knickerbocker Ice Company plant in preparation for the manufacture of 3.2% "near beer" intended to serve as a facilitator beer as "practice" for the manufacture of "real beer" when Prohibition was fully lifted.  The Board of Trustees of what then was known as the Village of Pelham (today's Pelham Heights) fought the new brewery on the grounds that it would violate the residence-only zoning ordinances implemented during the 1920s.  Village building inspectors stopped work on the site and at least two lawsuits followed.  One of those suits eventually resulted in a decision to relocate the proposed brewery.

Westchester County Brewing Company Advertisement

for Sale of "Artificially Made" Hygeia Ice Manufactured

at its Brewery Located in Pelham, New York.  Source:  

[Advertisement], The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY],

Jul. 19, 1912, p. 9, cols. 1-7.

Westchester County Brewing Company Advertisement

for Sale of Hygeia Ice, Artificially Made from Artesian

Well Water at the Brewery Located in Pelham, New York.

Source:  [Advertisement], The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY],

Jul. 30, 1912, p. 8, cols. 1-7.

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News Report Published in 1888 Indicates Opening of Sparks Avenue Prompted a Mini-Real Estate Boom

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During the 1880s, the Town of Pelham did not have its own newspaper.  Entrepreneurial newspaper publishers in surrounding communities filled that void by including news of Pelham and City Island in many editions.  One such newspaper was The Chronicle, published in Mount Vernon.  

The January 13, 1888 issue of The Chronicle included news of Pelham and City Island.  The news report noted that the opening of the new road named Sparks Avenue "from Wolf's lane to Eastchester Creek" caused a mini-real estate boom.  Two homes were quickly erected on the road and a third had been begun by the time of the report.  

 

Detail of 1893 Map Showing Sparks Avenue on Left

with Two Homes Owned by Members of the Sparks Family.

Source:  Atlas of Westchester County, New York, p. 3

(NY, NY:  Julius Bien & Co., 1893) ("Towns of

Westchester and Pelham (With) Villages of Westchester

and Unionport.  (With) Village of Pelhamville.").

The entire report is transcribed below to facilitate search and is followed by a citation to its source.

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.

On the 19th inst., the Unity Club of Mount Vernon, assisted by the Galaxy Glee Club, will repeat, in Gurney's Hall, Pelhamville, the concert recently given in Fuller's Hall.  Proceeds for the benefit of Church of the Redeemer.

The marriage of Cecilia C., only daughter of Mr. George W. Sembler, to Mr. S.S. Hall of Locust Valley, N.Y., was the leading social event on City Island, last week.  A large number of guests witnessed the ceremony, which was performed by Rev. W. P. Eates.

The opening of the new road, very properly named Sparks avenue, from Wolf's lane to Eastchester Creek, has boomed real estate somewhat.  Two houses have already been put up on the new avenue, and another is begun.  

There was a pigeon shoot at Secord's, Bartow, last Monday, during which the tie for the silver trophy, between Messrs. McCourt and Trott, was shot off, and in the contest which followed there was another tie between Messrs. McNicholl and Elliott.  As a result, there will be another match to-morrow.

'BARTOW !  change cars for City Island.'  The above is the way the brakemen on trains of the Harlem River Branch Road notify passengers that they are at Bartow.  The 'change cars' means from steam to horse-cars of the Pelham Park Railroad, which runs to City Island.

At Secord's hotel, Bartow, there is quite a curiosity.  It is a patchwork quilt, 5 feet 3 inches square, in which there is said to be 25,000 pieces.  We take the number for granted, as we did not take the time to count.  The pieces are all of uniform size, and were put together by an old lady, somewhere in the neighborhood, and the quilt is to be raffled for her benefit, as soon as 100 chances are taken, at 25 cents a chance.

It is exceedingly dull just now, in the City Island shipyards.  Robinson & Waterhouse are laying the keel for a tug, beyond which they have little or no work.  There is almost a standstill at Piepgras's.  Wood & Sons have some small work; but theirs is of a class that keeps them usually busy.  They have a steam launch 30 feet long, well under way, for Mr. Cyrus D. Pell.  A little matter worthy of note is the fact that a large rowboat, built by them, nearly five years ago, for a firm at St. Thomas's, West India Islands, has been sent on here for repairs.

The cars of the Pelham Park Railway are being repainted.  The officers of this road believe in keeping rolling stock in order; and as for their horses -- well, we would like to have the managers of some of our country horse railroads take a look at them.  They look like well kept coach horses from some gentleman's stable, and it is really a pleasure to ride in the cars, so smoothly do they run, without any apparent jar or jolt, and with an utter absence of that incessant rattle so common, especially on the Mt. Vernon horse-cars.

An effort will be made at the present session of the county legislature, to have the salary of keeper of Pelham Bridge increased.  It seems to us that there would be justice in an increase, provided it be a reasonable one.  The present salary, $300, certainly appears inadequate when the traffic is taken into consideration.  Years ago, the keeper of Pelham Bridge received double the compensation now paid, and the traffic was not half.  Of late years considerable ground in Eastchester Bay and the creek, inside the bridge, has been devoted to oyster planting, and this in itself necessitates the frequent opening of the draw for sloops; besides, the rapid growth of Mt. Vernon has increased the consumption of coal accordingly, and the towing of brages up the creek, in open weather, is almost of daily occurrence, to say nothing of the traffic by small sailboats.

Mrs. Samuel Graham, daughter of Captain Joshua and Phebe Ann Leviness, departed this life on the evening of January 5th, after an illness of about ten days.  Her sudden departure is sincerely mourned by a large circle of relatives and loving friends.  She was an amiable christian lady whose life was devoted to deeds of tender and loving kindness.  City Island is genuinely in mourning.  The above is not the only case of bereavement on City Island, within the past few days.  On the same day as occurred the death of Mrs. Graham, also occurred the death of Mrs. Graham also occurred the death of Mr. Nicholas Smith, of pneumonia.  He leaves a widow and eight children.  Deceased was a member of Pelham Lodge, F. & A. M., which organization took charge of the interment.  On the same day, the infant of Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Vickery died of membranous croup.  On Saturday last, Daniel Donnelly, aged 18 years, grandson of the late Hugh Morris, died of heart disease, at the residence of his grandmother, with whom he resided, near Bartow.  The funeral took place on Tuesday, and was attended by a large concourse of young friends of deceased, by whom he was greatly admired.

As soon as the new year was ushered in, the politicians of Pelham began preparing for the spring campaign.  Among the aspirants for the supervisorship is said to be Mr. John F. Adema; but be that as it may, a Democratic club was recently organized at Bartow, ostensibly as an anti-Pell club.  This is denied by some who seem to know the 'true inwardness' of the movement.  There is no disguising the fact, however, that Mr. Pell incurred the displeasure of some members of his party last spring, when he voted, in town board, for Mr. Robert H. Scott, a Republican, for one of the Board of Auditors.  How he could have conscientiously done otherwise, we fail to see, and we can but admire the stand he took, even in the face of his party opposition.  The town of Pelham is Democratic, by a bare majority, and the Town Board is a Democratic board, but this does not give them the right to totally ignore the common courtesy of giving the Republicans a representative in the Board of Auditors.  Mr. Pell realized this, and acted accordingly, and his fairness will doubtless be remembered in his next candidacy."  

Source:  Pelham and City Island, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Jan. 13, 1888, Vol. XIX, No. 1054, p. 3, col. 2.  

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