By DONALD R. SERFASS

dserfass@tnonline.com

Tamaqua is known as the Land of Running Water.

But in early days, a good portion of the water was mixed with malted barley, hops and yeast.

The town hosted a budding beer industry second to none.

In fact, the manufacture, bottling and distribution of beer was so popular, the town is believed to have spawned one of Lancaster’s largest breweries.

Empire Brewery, a former industry giant, might have been an outgrowth of a smaller brewery in 1877 Tamaqua.

According to research done by breweriana enthusiast and historian Paul A. Haefner Jr., of Pittsford, N.Y., his family’s legendary Empire Brewery likely had its roots in eastern Schuylkill County.

Empire, along with three other breweries, Rieker, Sprenger and Wacker, comprised the big four of Lancaster’s famous early beerhouses.

The discovery of the connection was first announced in 1999 when Haefner visited the town to confirm his theory.

“Documents indicate that my great-grandfather, Joseph Haefner, was proprietor of Bavarian Brewery at the corner of  Lafayette and Swatara streets, near Lehigh Street, where he lived in 1879,” Haefner explained.

When he uncovered the information, Haefner jumped in his car and traveled to Tamaqua from his home near Rochester. What followed was an eye opening experience, said Haefner, biology instructor at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Haefner’s impromptu trip turned up fast results.

He approached Lafayette Street resident Ann Knowles Price, who was happy to help locate the former brewery.

“I found an existing building and some adjacent walls that probably housed the brewery, based on descriptions from old  publications,” he said.

The present structure at 300 Lafayette St. and neighboring properties once comprised the independent brewing complex launched by his ancestor. The three-story brick building now serves as Martha’s Place, a restaurant, take-out service and private upstairs living quarters.

Historians knew of the site’s brewing background but not necessarily of the link to Lancaster’s beer legacy.

“The Haefner Brewery included the vacant lot behind Martha’s that is now a parking lot,” said Dale Freudenberger, president of the Tamaqua Historical Society.

Haefner sets up shop

Joseph Haefner’s American success story is the classic tale of an immigrant finding wealth in the land of opportunity.

The native-born German arrived in the US from the brewing regions of Germany about 1870. After working at several  established breweries in Lancaster, Haefner set out to start his own business. Early records indicate he departed for Schuylkill  County in the late 1870s, settling in Tamaqua.

Haefner purchased an existing brewery from Henry Kalb in 1877. Kalb is believed to have bought the brewery in 1874 from Conrad Ifland, who established the operation shortly after the Civil War.

Journals attest to Haefner’s success as an independent brewer in Tamaqua and it appears other documents corroborate his  stay in the community.

For instance, early church records, Tamaqua directories and American Breweries II, a compilation of U.S. breweries, confirm that Joseph Haefner and his family lived in Tamaqua at least four years.

The beer business caught fire in Tamaqua and local residents jumped in on the action.

For instance, resident Andrew Gavulla set up a bottling business in the basement of his house at 417 Willing St. Gavulla’s operation lasted from 1912 to 1917.

However, Haefner was no longer in town by then.

About 1884, Haefner moved to Philadelphia where he spent two years at Schmid’s, not to be mistaken with Schmidt’s, Brewery. Then, in  1886, he moved to Lancaster where he purchased Empire Steam Brewery at Lime and Locust streets for $11,000.

Business quickly prospered and by 1903 the Biographical Annals of Lancaster County declared Empire Brewery to be one  of the largest enterprises of its kind in the city.

Interestingly, the establishment also made history by installing the first ice machine in the country, something unheard of before 1901. The machine manufactured ice in an underground city of vats.

At Haefner’s death on January 10, 1916, his estate included four hotels and the brewery, total value $70,300.07, according  to Lancaster’s Inventory and Appraisement Journal. Shortly thereafter, Haefner’s home was sold and became the Seventh Ward  Republican Club.

Prohibition puts a stop

The brewery remained family-operated but leadership changed hands several times.

The company, along with Sprenger Brewery, suffered a setback when both were caught brewing illegal beer Oct. 2, 1924 in the days of Prohibition.

The Lancaster Intelligencer Journal reported “federal agents pumped 1,500 barrels of beer into the gutter outside the Empire Brewery. The agents used force pumps to raise the illegal amber 35 feet from vats below the street.”

Empire Brewery eventually went bankrupt in 1945.

Paul Haefner said all four of Lancaster’s major breweries folded by 1956.

“Local breweries were unprepared to meet the demands. None had been remodeled or modernized; skilled workers were  lost to other industries ... the plants were too small and became obsolete. Locals didn’t have the capital to invest in new plants and  machinery, or the newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertising used by the major brewers.”

The town of Tamaqua, Haefner said, played an important role in developing Lancaster’s famous libation, which helped put the city on the map.

“The local newspaper referred to Lancaster as the Munich of the United States because of the quantity of beer produced  at that time,” Haefner said.

Other early breweries were going strong in Tamaqua, as well.

Joseph Adams opened a brewery on Broad Street in 1860. Conrad Ifland opened one nearby on Rowe Street in 1868. George Sinzer also brewed malt liquor in Tamaqua during the Gilded Age. Sinzer’s brewery was begun on Dec. 30, 1882.

Tamaqua’s most famous brewery, McGinty’s, will be examined in a future story.

The brewery remained family-operated but leadership changed hands several times.

The company, along with Sprenger Brewery, suffered a setback when both were caught brewing illegal beer Oct. 2, 1924 in the days of Prohibition.

The Lancaster Intelligencer Journal reported “federal agents pumped 1,500 barrels of beer into the gutter outside the Empire Brewery. The agents used force pumps to raise the illegal amber 35 feet from vats below the street.”

Empire Brewery eventually went bankrupt in 1945.

Paul Haefner said all four of Lancaster’s major breweries folded by 1956.

“Local breweries were unprepared to meet the demands. None had been remodeled or modernized; skilled workers were  lost to other industries ... the plants were too small and became obsolete. Locals didn’t have the capital to invest in new plants and  machinery, or the newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertising used by the major brewers.”

The town of Tamaqua, Haefner said, played an important role in developing Lancaster’s famous libation, which helped put the city on the map.

“The local newspaper referred to Lancaster as the Munich of the United States because of the quantity of beer produced  at that time,” Haefner said.

Other early breweries were going strong in Tamaqua, as well.

Joseph Adams opened a brewery on Broad Street in 1860. Conrad Ifland opened one nearby on Rowe Street in 1868. George Sinzer also brewed malt liquor in Tamaqua during the Gilded Age. Sinzer’s brewery was begun on Dec. 30, 1882.

Tamaqua’s most famous brewery, McGinty’s, will be examined in a future story.