Foley & Smith

14 Sep 2021, last revised 26 Jun 2025

Today, Eagle Harbor is a picturesque, small town on a natural harbor of Lake Superior. It is visited by tourists for its scenic beauty and historical sites, including a lighthouse and a general store. The general store is known by bottle collectors as the home of the Foley & Smith beer bottles, the only Copper Country bottles from Eagle Harbor. Eagle Harbor was settled in the 1840s and served as a port for nearby copper mines and shelter for Lake Superior ships (1,2).

The Pioneers - Foley Bros. & Co.

The history of Foley & Smith started with their fathers, who were pioneers of the Copper Country and founders of the general store. The Foley brothers consisted of Michael, John, and Martin (2,3). They were born in Ireland and immigrated to America, with Michael and John arriving in 1848 and Martin arriving in 1851 (2,4). After spending three years on Isle Royale (15), John started a liquor business in Eagle Harbor in 1854, and then engaged in the meat market (2). In 1857, they established a general mercantile store in Houghton, which Michael and Martin managed (2). Michael Smith, another immigrant from Ireland, arrived in America in 1854 (2). In 1858, Smith bought interest in the Foley brothers, and they formed Foley Bros. & Co. (2). During the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Smith resided in the household of John Foley (16). Also residing in John's household was a Mary A. Foley (16), probably John's sister, whom Smith married on 11 Dec 1860 (17). Prior to building the general store, they conducted business on their homestead, which is where "all the children of the two families were born and raised" (25).

There are conflicting reports as to when the firm established the general store in Eagle Harbor. Having their 75th anniversary in 1935 (see ad below) suggests that the store was built in 1860. An account from 1917 stated that the store was built in 1863 (25). Robert Foley's obituary from 1931 stated that the store had "been in business at Eagle Harbor continuously since 1858" (32). The website of the Eagle Harbor General Store Museum states that the store was founded in 1861 (5).

The firm also established a store in Red Jacket in 1874, which Martin managed (2). The 1875 Polk directory listed their three general stores under the name Foley Bros. & Co. (6). The Houghton store, however, was lost to fire in 1875 (2).

The Next Generation - Foley & Smith

John Foley and Michael Smith sold the Eagle Harbor store to their sons in 1885, who then called it the Foley & Smith General Store (5). The firm name also changed to Foley & Smith for the Red Jacket store (10), which closed in 1888 (14) and was offered for rent in Apr 1889 (30). The 1907 directory identified the sons as Robert Foley and John Smith (7), and the 1897 and 1907 directories listed their business as a general store and saloon (7,8).

Robert Emmet Foley was born on 03 Aug 1863 (18) and John F. Smith was born on 28 Oct 1861 (20), both in Eagle Harbor (32,20). The 1880 U.S. Federal Census recorded them both as a clerk in a store when Robert was 16 years old and John was 18 years old (19).

In May 1890, Foley & Smith purchased the bottling operation of Frank Knivel Jr. in Eagle River and moved it to Eagle Harbor (11). Frank Jr. was an agent for Joseph Bosch & Co. from 1889 (12), and now Foley & Smith became agents for "the celebrated Torch Lake beer" (11). By Dec 1890, they had the bottling works set up in their basement (13). By 16 Jan 1891, they had purchased the bottles, boxes, etc. from the Clifton Bottling Works in Phoenix after it had closed (21,22). The Bosch Brewing Co. listed Eagle Harbor as one of their branch or storehouse locations (9), and we can identify the branch as being the Foley & Smith store.

Paul Foley of Mohawk provided information on the store for the bottle book, Old Copper Country Bottles. Foley & Smith were not brewers. They were agents (as stated on bottle #108) who bottled beer purchased from the Torch Lake Brewery in Lake Linden. The beer was, for the most part, transported by horse-drawn wagon in 31-gallon barrels to Eagle Harbor. In the basement of the store, they transferred the beer to their bottles, and presumably, sold them in their saloon. They continued to distribute Bosch beer for many years after 1895, but evidently, not in their own embossed bottles.

In Nov-Dec 1911, Foley & Smith erected a warehouse in Mohawk on the Keweenaw Central railroad line a few hundred feet south of the passenger depot (23,24). The refrigerated warehouse was to be used to store beer received by refrigerated railroad cars, which would better keep the beer versus hauling it in over roads (23). From the warehouse, the beer would then be delivered throughout their territory by teams (24).

In Mar 1917, Foley & Smith opened a store in the Kenel Block in Ahmeek to sell clothing, footwear, and ladies' furnishings (25,27). In Jul 1917, carpenters were remodeling a building in Ahmeek that Foley & Smith recently purchased with the addition of more bedrooms for a hotel (28).

According to his death certificate, John Smith died in Eagle Harbor on 07 Feb 1918 at the age of 56 due to "accidental discharge of gun" (20). However, his obituary stated that he was "the victim of a self-inflicted shotgun wound" (31). He was unmarried (20). He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Eagle Harbor (28).

The 1920 census recorded Robert Foley as a resident of Ahmeek and a manager of a general store (29). He died on 10 Jan 1931 at the age of 67 due to diabetes (18) following an illness of ten days (32). He was unmarried (18,32). At the time of his death, he was the proprietor of the R. E. Foley Store Co. in Ahmeek (18,32). He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Eagle Harbor (26).

A Connection to the Past

Ownership of the store changed over the years (1) and the store became known as the Eagle Harbor General Store (5). It operated until 2004 and today is a museum (5).

The Foley & Smith bottles are not the pioneer beer bottles used in late-1870s and 1880s, but they are highly prized and eagerly sought after just the same because they represent such a fascinating part of Copper Country history. Having one in your collection adds a special connection to Eagle Harbor and Keweenaw County history.

Citations

1. Monette, C. J. 1977. The History of Eagle Harbor Michigan. Welden H. Curtin. Lake Linden, MI.
2. anonymous. 1883. History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Western Historical Company. Chicago, IL.
3. Charles F. Clark. 1863. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1863-4. Charles F. Clark. Detroit, MI.
4. Ancestry.com. Boston, 1821-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.)
5. Eagle Harbor General Store Museum. accessed 2021. www.eagleharborgeneralstoremuseum.org.
6. R. L. Polk & Co. 1875. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1875. The Tribune Printing Company. Detroit, MI.
7. R. L. Polk & Co. 1907. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1907-1908. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
8. R. L. Polk & Co. 1897. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1897. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
9. anonymous. 1899. Compliments of The Bosch Brewing Co.: Bottlers and Brewers of Fine Lager Beer, Lake Linden, Michigan. Mining Journal Print, Marquette. (company pamphlet)
10. R. L. Polk & Co. 1887. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1887-88. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
11. anonymous. (1890, May 08). Keweenaw jottings. The Calumet and Red Jacket News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
12. anonymous. (1889, Jun 28). Keweenaw jottings. The Calumet and Red Jacket News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
13. anonymous. (1890, Dec 12). Keweenaw jottings. The Calumet and Red Jacket News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
14. anonymous. (1888, Aug 28). untitled. Torch Lake Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
15. anonymous. (1899, Dec 14). Death of John Foley. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 5.
16. U.S. Census Bureau. 1860 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
17. Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995. FamilySearch (familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCV4-3MH : 18 February 2021), Michael Smyth, 1860.
18. Michigan Department of Health. Division of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death. Robert Emmet Foley. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61437489/robert-emmet-foley.
19. U.S. Census Bureau. 1880 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
20. State of Michigan. Division of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death. John. F. Smith. www.findagrave.com/memorial/178762259/john-f-smith.
21. anonymous. (1891, Jan 16). Keweenaw Jottings: Phoenix. The Calumet and Red Jacket News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
22. anonymous. (1891, Jan 16). Keweenaw Jottings: Eagle Harbor. The Calumet and Red Jacket News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
23. anonymous. (1911, Nov 10). Foley & Smith build. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 20.
24. anonymous. (1911, Dec 22). Building completed. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 34.
25. anonymous. (1917, Feb 24). New store for Ahmeek. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 21.
26. Find a Grave. accessed Jun 2025. Robert Emmet Foley. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61437489/robert-emmet-foley.
27. anonymous. (1917, Mar 17). untitled. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 22.
28. Find a Grave. accessed Jun 2025. John F. Smith. www.findagrave.com/memorial/178762259/john-f-smith.
29. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
30. anonymous. (1889, Apr 26). For rent. The Calumet and Red Jacket News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
31. anonymous. (1918, Feb 08). Death of a pioneer. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
32. anonymous. (1931, Jan 12). R.E. Foley, pioneer Keweenaw man, dies. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.