Archive record · Brewery
Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
- Founded
- 1913
- Closed
- 1972
- Archive ID
- TB-S0NGCAW1
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
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From the record
Summary
Type: Historical cooperative-origin production brewery. Ownership as recorded: HISTORICAL. Cooperative-origin rival to Oshkosh Brewing. Theodore Mack purchased it in April 1970. National 'first Black-owned brewery' language is not used canonically because contemporary/historical comparison shows Sunshine Brewing preceded it. [Wisconsin Pass 14]
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Where it brewed
- 1506 S Main StOshkosh, Wisconsin
HISTORICAL_PRODUCTION
Operated by Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh
Site detail
WHS identifies Peoples brewery Site; main brewing tower demolished in 1979. Separate from surviving bottling building.
- 1512 S Main StOshkosh, Wisconsin
HISTORICAL_BOTTLING
Operated by Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh
Site detail
Surviving bottling-department building; current occupant/use remains separate from historical brewery function.
These are different physical places. A brewery moving premises is not the same brewery continuing, and the archive keeps them apart.
The People
Behind the beer
Led Milwaukee investor group that purchased Peoples in April 1970. Historical reporting often called Peoples the first Black-owned U.S. brewery, but later research identified Sunshine Brewing in Pennsylvania as earlier; Tally preserves the corrected comparison.
Tavern keeper and former Oshkosh Brewing retailer who helped organize Peoples in opposition to tied-house pressure.
Experienced former Oshkosh Brewing office employee central to Peoples organization; died in 1915.
Peoples brewmaster who added management duties after Kargus died; WHS preserves a house associated with him.
Straight answers
Common questions about Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh
- Is Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh still open?
- No. Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh has closed (1972).
- When was Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh founded?
- Peoples Brewing Company - Oshkosh was founded in 1913 in Oshkosh, USA.
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