The Historical Foundation for Schmidt's
One of the most recognizable locations in Saint Paul is the towering Schmidt brewery. The name, spelled out in giant red letters, can be seen for miles around. Jacob Schmidt bought out the failing St. Paul Brewing Company on this location in 1900 and immediately started work renovating and building the castle complex that anchors the west end of 7th street, but do you know what brewery was there first?
The Christopher Stahlmann Cave Brewery
When the Christopher Stahlmann Cave Brewery opened here in 1855, it was in the middle of nowhere at the west end of Fort Road that ran between St. Paul proper and Fort Snelling. Like other brewers of the time, Stahlmann was looking for a location that had a natural spring and soft sandstone that could be dug out to make storage caves for lagering beer.
People of the time (and still today) spread mythical stories of 3 levels of caves, miles long. The city’s sewer system that was carved out in 1884, does intersect (and sometimes overflows into) the brewery tunnels. Many geologists and urban explorers have documented their descent into the cellars. They were extensively mapped in 2011 when applying for historic designation with the city. In actuality, there’s just one level about half a mile long. That’s still an incredibly impressive honeycomb of tunnels to store massive amounts of beer.
By the 1870’s, those caves became obsolete. Icehouses and mechanical refrigeration soon took over, the caves were abandoned, some collapsed, and “Cave” was dropped from the name. The Christopher Stahlmann Brewery Company was on its way to becoming the largest in the state.
Unfortunately, Christopher Stahlmann died from complications of tuberculosis in 1883. Then things turned tragic. Within a decade, his brother (Adam) and all 3 of his sons (Bernhard, Henry, and Christopher Jr.) would die from the same cause.
Henry’s father-in-law, George Mitsch, tried to step in. Christopher Sr.’s widow remarried and her new husband, Frank Nicolin, also tried to steer the ship. The brewery was renamed Saint Paul Brewing - but it wasn’t enough.
As they say, “one man’s tragedy is another man’s opportunity”.
The Faltering North Star
Jacob Schmidt had long been at war with his business partner in the North Star Brewery, Wlliiam Constans. They were in and out of court fighting over rent and other payments. The barns at North Star burned down in 1897. When Schmidt learned of the difficulties of Saint Paul Brewing, he saw his chance to start fresh. He bought his way out of North Star and bought what was left of Saint Paul Brewing in 1900. He immediately started work planning his expansion built upon the Stahlmann’s foundation. He even took over the family mansion that stands across Seventh Street. He added to the stables around the corner. The malthouse, though extensively remodeled, still has some of the original walls from all those years ago.
it was just in time. North Star Brewing burned to the ground in 1905.
We may be more familiar with the name “Schmidt’s” and there’s a lot more to its history to be told, but at least the beginning of the story started with Stahlmann.
And a Tragic Post Script
As I mentioned earlier, all three of the Stahlmann brothers died between 1887 and 1893. Both Henry and Christopher Jr. had young families.
Christopher Jr. had two children: Margaret and Christopher III.
Henry had a son, Henry “George” Jr. and a daughter, Sabina. Henry Sr.’s widow, Maria, remarried. She and her 2nd husband, Frank Nicolin, had a daughter, Angela.
In January of 1943, George, his wife Alvina, his sister Sabina, his half-sister Angela, and a neighbor were on their way to church. As they approached some train tracks there was no signal, no arm to block their way, no indication that it wasn’t safe to cross the tracks. A Special, an unscheduled train, raced through the intersection and crushed their automobile.
Just as his father’s generation was all wiped out in a short period of time, almost the entire next generation was wiped out, too.
