Peacock Brewery

	Peacock Brewery
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	200 Prairie and 500 North Madison Streets, Rockford, Illinois
Coordinates	42°16′23″N89°5′12″W / 42.27306°N 89.08667°W Coordinates: 42°16′23″N89°5′12″W / 42.27306°N 89.08667°W
Architect	Widmann, Walsh & Boisscher
Architectural style	Greek Revival (house), Classical Revival (brewhouse)
NRHP reference #	11000851
Added to NRHP	November 22, 2011

Last updated May 01, 2019

Peacock Brewery, also known at times as the Rockford Brewing Company and the Rock River Brewing Company, is a historic pair of buildings on the east side of the Rock River in Rockford, Illinois, United States. It was Rockford's largest brewery for almost seventy years.

Rockford is a city in Winnebago County in the U.S. state of Illinois, in far northern Illinois. Located on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County. The largest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, Rockford is the third-largest city in the state and the 171st most populous in the United States According to 2010 U.S. Census Data, the City of Rockford had a population of 152,871, with an outlying metropolitan area population of 348,360. The City of Rockford's population is 147,051 as of 2017, down 4.1% since 2010.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Origin

British immigrant Jonathan Peacock moved to Rockford, Illinois in 1849. Peacock had learned the brewing trade in England before working in Chicago's Lill & Diversey brewery. He purchased a house on Madison Street and began to brew beer in the back. Peacock ground malt in a coffee mill, brewed it in a wash boilers, and delivered his product to customers via wheelbarrow. With the connection of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad to Rockford in 1852, Peacock was ready to serve the droves of immigrants that followed.^[1]

Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States, and the fourth largest in North America and the third largest metropolitan area in the world by land area.

A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a derivation of the Old English "bearwe" which was a device used for carrying loads.

The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa and Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built to Chicago.

By 1857, Peacock's operation had grown to a point where he could no longer simply brew out of the back of his home. He built a new brewhouse next door to meet demand. In the summer of 1894, a fire ravaged the brewhouse. Peacock immediately rebuilt, but died two years later. His sons, Frank and Edward, inherited the business. Under their leadership, the brewery produced over 20,000 barrels of beer per year. The most popular beer was Nikolob. Both sons died of tuberculosis in 1899, and the brewery was sold to Croatian immigrant John V. Petritz.^[1]

1900s

John Petritz had moved out west to Montana in the 1880s and made a fortune in liquor production and distribution. After he decided to move back east, he decided to purchase a large brewery. With the Peacock Brewery under his ownership, he hired St. Louis architects Widmann, Walsh & Boisscher to design a large, modern brewhouse. Replacing the older brewhouse, the $100,000 brewhouse had state-of-the-art technology and advanced production to 75,000 barrels a year. Petritz renamed the company the Rockford Brewing Company. He purchased a bottling company in 1900, replacing it with a newer building in 1902.^[1]

Montana is a landlocked state in the Northwestern United States. Montana has several nicknames, although none are official, including "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently "The Last Best Place".

Prohibition

Petritz struggled to keep up with new liquor license and tax laws in the early 20th century. By 1916, he had accrued 270 violations and faced fines exceeding $2,000. In 1917, Winnebago County passed a law enforcing prohibition. Petritz ignored the law and continued to produce beer at his brewhouse. John V. Petritz, his son Frank, and manager Earl Blewfeld were arrested that year for the violations. Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Kenesaw Mountain Landis oversaw the trial, which became a local media sensation. Petritz was forced to pay a combined $15,000 to the city and county in a settlement for 1,250 violations of liquor laws. The license for the Rockford Brewing Company expired in 1918 and was not renewed.^[1]

Winnebago County, Illinois County in the United States

Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 295,266, making it the seventh most populous county in Illinois behind Cook County and its five surrounding collar counties. Its county seat is Rockford.

Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois.

Rock River Brewing Company

Petritz used the old brewing buildings to start a new warehousing business. Another one of his sons, John G., tried to restart the brewery after prohibition ended. Sold under the name Petritz, the beer was produced in Chicago and bottled in the Rockford buildings. One of his partners, Samuel Hirsch, bought out the other partners in 1937 and changed the name to the Rock River Brewing Company. Producing Coronet Old Vat and Grand Prize beers, the brewery finally came to a closure in 1945.

2000s

On November 22, 2011, the brewery buildings were recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1] It was highlighted as the featured property of the week.^[2]

National Park Service United States federal agency

The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. It was created on August 25, 1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. The NPS is charged with a dual role of preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management, while also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Today, the building is undergoing renovation towards being reopened as Rockford Brewery in spring 2014. The Ice Cellar Bar, one of three event rooms has been updated with a 10-line draft system and changeable colored LED lights set into he base of the copper lined bar. The lighting overhead is now renovated to LED lights shine through a surface that resemble the blocks of ice once stored in this room. The overhead lights are made from ancient beer and liquor bottles, many produced here originally. The bar's copper lining is the same aged color as the copper vats once used in the brewing process. The beams and bar supports are raw steel as was commonly used in the industrial age.^[3]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, Gary W. (March 2011), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Peacock Brewery (PDF), National Park Service , retrieved November 14, 2013
↑ National Register of Historic Places Program: Lists of Weekly Actions 2011, National Park Service, retrieved November 14, 2013
↑ "Fork in the Road-Best Dining on the Planet". Americanroads.net. Retrieved 2014-01-06.

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[NRHP-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, Gary W. (March 2011), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Peacock Brewery (PDF), National Park Service , retrieved November 14, 2013

[2] National Register of Historic Places Program: Lists of Weekly Actions 2011, National Park Service, retrieved November 14, 2013

[3] "Fork in the Road-Best Dining on the Planet". Americanroads.net. Retrieved 2014-01-06.


Peacock Brewery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


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Location	200 Prairie and 500 North Madison Streets, Rockford, Illinois
Coordinates	42°16′23″N89°5′12″W / 42.27306°N 89.08667°W / 42.27306; -89.08667 Coordinates: 42°16′23″N89°5′12″W / 42.27306°N 89.08667°W / 42.27306; -89.08667
Architect	Widmann, Walsh & Boisscher
Architectural style	Greek Revival (house), Classical Revival (brewhouse)
NRHP reference #	11000851
Added to NRHP	November 22, 2011