The History of Wildermuth Brewing in Pomeroy, Ohio

Pomeroy, Ohio

Photo by DominicOH, used with permission.

Not much remains of the old Wildermuth Brewing Company buildings. A few empty lots, some tunnels, and the buildings that surrounded the brewery are all that’s left. However, none of that erases the history behind the area, which illustrates how vibrant the village of Pomeroy used to be.

It All Started with Gottlieb Wildermuth

Photo by DominicOH and Meigs County Historical Society, used with permission.

Gottlieb Wildermuth, born in 1828, moved to Pomeroy, Ohio after spending four years serving in the Company M. First West Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War. He decided to start a brewery, buying buildings on Condor Street that later served as the brewing space, bottling facility, and, down the street from all of that, his home. He gave the brewery his last name, and the Wildermuth Brewing Company started to thrive.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/w-pomeroy-oh-1890s-beer-bottle-pint-412218300

According to an 1891 business listing for Pomeroy, Wildermuth Brewery was a “Rolling Mill brewery, Brewer of Lager Beer & Mfg. of Artificial Ice.” Business was good, as the village of Pomeroy was booming during this time period. Many Civil War soldiers settled there, and thanks to the nearby Ohio River, there was plenty of boat traffic. The visitors to the town could enjoy a performance at one of the theatres, buy some locally made beer, and spend time wandering around the many streets filled with bustling dry goods and jewelry stores.

In 1898, the Wildermuth Brewing Company expanded slightly, offering shares of the business to Wildermuth’s children, which made sense, because the Wildermuth Mansion was right near the brewing and bottling plants. After Gottlieb Wildermuth died in 1903, the family-owned company continued to thrive until 1919 when Prohibition took it out. They temporarily reopened its doors in 1935, several years after Prohibition ended, but only lasted a year.

What Remains of Wildermuth Brewing Company

Over time, Pomeroy turned into a quiet village by the Ohio River, a ghost of its interesting past, and took the Wildermuth Brewing Co buildings with it. All that’s left is the arch above, which used to lead to stables next to the brewery, and some empty lots connected belowground by a closed-off 20-foot high tunnel.

If you were driving down Condor Street in Pomeroy, you never would’ve known what used to be in those empty lots: a popular brewery in a busy village that’s gone quiet.