Brewmaster and workers at the Oderbolz Brewing Co., late 19th century.
THE ODERBOLZ BREWING CO.
BLACK RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN
1856-1911
In 1856, Swiss immigrant Ulrich Oderbolz founded the Oderbolz Brewing Company in Black River Falls on the site of the present Sand Creek Brewing Company. Mr. Oderbolz cut his brewery into the side of a hill, as was the practice in those days, and created thick stone foundation walls to make a brew cellar for keeping the beer fresh -- in the winter, blocks of ice were cut from nearby Spaulding pond.
Today the Sand Creek Brewing Co. operates in Mr. Oderbolz's same brewery building, and the beer is stored in the same 19th century beer cellar. (The original building was nearly destroyed in a fire in 1932, in which it lost its second and third floors.)
Ulrich married Anna, another Swiss immigrant, in 1857, and in 1869 they built the red brick residence which still stands across the street from the brewery. They had eight children -- four boys and four girls -- and the brewery prospered.
The 1869 Oderbolz house as it looks today.
Tragedy at the brewery: 1888
But tragedy stalked the family. On Feb. 15, 1888, 18-year-old Charley Oderbolz fell into a vat of boiling malt at the brewery, after losing his balance while standing on the edge. He fell forward full length, but managed to keep his head above water and climbed out. He was terribly scalded, and his clothing was removed, which only made matters worse by pulling skin off, and he lingered only until the following morning, when he died.
When Ulrich died in 1900 at the age of 80, his son Frank continued operating the brewery. Frank had been president of the Jackson County Bank since 1897, and also found time to farm, serve on the common council, be a volunteer firefighter, and was even the supervisor of the committee in charge of building the dam over the Black River.
Frank Oderbolz goes over the falls: 1911
It was the river, and the dam, which would prove to be Frank's undoing and the end of the Oderbolz Brewing Co.. On May 21, 1911, Frank drowned after going over the dam in a gasoline launch whose steering had gotten stuck.
The boat belonged to Frank's friend, A.E. Homstad. A total of nine people climbed aboard that day. Homstad had wanted to test the boat for the season, even though it had been a very rainy Spring and the river was at a very high stage.
Frank Oderbolz
Not long after launching, the steering mechanism stopped working and they had to shut off the engine. However, the boat had already gotten into the main stream and was headed straight for the dam. One man immediately jumped overboard and easily swam to shore, but the eight others remained on board until the bitter end. As the boat went through the dam it passed by a concrete pier where seven of the remaining eight managed to escape, but Frank was unable to, and went through the raging current to the rocks and whirlpools below.
A huge $500 reward led to the discovery of his body a week later after the high waters finally went down.
The Badger Brewing Co.: 1911-1920
Two months after the death of Frank Oderbolz, his mother sold the business to a corporation of local businessmen (including one of the men who was in the boat with Frank), and it became known as the Badger Brewing Co.. Most of the new owners were "independent saloon" keepers -- that is, they ran saloons not owned by the major breweries. Their new brewery would keep their costs down for their saloons in Black River Falls and along the Omaha railway between there and Eau Claire.
The Badger Brewery only lasted eight years until being closed by Prohibition in 1920. They made a low-alcohol "temperance drink" called "New Style," but the building was sold to Miller-Rose, a poultry company, in the 1920s. In 1932, a devastating fire struck the building, destroying the second and third floors. It was rebuilt with a new second floor, and was later used as a soft drink bottling plant. The different shades of red brick today show the boundaries of the original brewery and the rebuilt second floor, along with an addition on the east side of the brewery where the loading docks are.
