Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Brewing and Prohibition
Long before Wisconsin became America's Dairyland, Wisconsin was a beer state. Brewing began in Wisconsin in the 1830s, and by the 1890s, nearly every community had at least one operating brewery. Breweries were as much a part of Wisconsin communities as churches and schools. They supplied steady employment to workers, bought grain from local farmers who in turn often fed brewery by-products to their livestock, and they frequently sponsored community festivals, youth groups, and sports teams. Brewing was intimately tied to Wisconsin's people, particularly its German immigrants, who brought their knowledge and skills with them to North America. Despite beer's... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | Reformers organize to curb alcohol abuse in 1840. |
| A look at the life and legacy of Frances Willard |
| Campaign literature from the Wisconsin Prohibition Party |
| A sketch of the beer barons of Milwaukee, 1892 |
| The "High Life" of Milwaukee's Frederick Miller |
| The original home of Schlitz beer in Milwaukee |
| The famed Schlitz Palm Garden closes its doors in 1921 |
| Richard Owens opens Milwaukee's first brewery in 1840 |
| A man recalls his years on a hop farm in Sauk County |
| Overproduction leads to a devastating crash for hops farmers in the 1860s |
| Frederick Pabst brings beer gardens to New York |
| Prohibition robs Milwaukee of its happiness |
| The Anti-Saloon League launches a newspaper, 1905 |
| A temperance society forms in 1835 |
| Wisconsin "drys" push for ratification of national prohibition in 1918 |
| Two Milwaukee residents predict the failure of prohibition |
| Baraboo women launch a raid on town saloons |
| A 1930 debate on prohibition enforcement |
 | A promotional song from Fred Miller Brewing Company |
| The 1885 Constitution of the Anti-Prohibition Association |
| Anti-Prohibitionists argue for the economic importance of the brewing industry, 1885 |
| A souvenir from the Schlitz Palm Garden, 1896 |
| A souvenir guide to the Schlitz Brewing Company |
| A souvenir booklet from the Pabst Brewing Company, 1907 |
| The federal government investigates prohibition enforcement in Wisconsin, 1929 |
| National conditions under Prohibition in 1928 |
 | A leaflet promotes the benefits of a world without alcohol, 1919 |
| Images of brewing and breweries, 1860-1984 |
| The end of prohibition sparks celebration in 1933 |
| Images of barrels and barrel-making |
 | Detectives investigate drinking in Delavan and Oconto Falls, 1917-1918 |
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