Miswald Bros. & Co.

24 Aug 2021, last revised 27 Apr 2026

The Miswald Bros. & Co. bottle was included in the Unknown Brewers and Bottlers section of Old Copper Country Bottles. Back then, in 1978, it was unknown if the Miswald brothers ran a brewery or were solely bottlers, or if their bottle even contained beer. We now know that the Miswald brothers, in fact, had a brewery in Calumet. Even more fascinating, the Calumet brewery was their third brewery, and all three burned down. Despite having three breweries, the Calumet bottle is the only one known to bear their name. The bottle is a testament to a brewing family dogged by fire. It is from the shortest-lived Copper Country brewery with an embossed bottle, and Calumet's first brewery.

The Miswald Brothers

Newspaper articles stated that the Miswald brothers were three brothers (1,21), but we only know of two brothers, Martin and Joseph. Their father's will specified seven children, comprising "all sons and daughters of said deceased", and Martin and Joseph were the only two sons. Census records show that they were born in Michigan to immigrants from Alsace, France, which was largely ceded to Germany in 1871, and their family resided in Rockland (12,13). Joseph was born on 24 Aug 1865 (22), and Martin was born on 06 Oct 1871 in Hancock (23).

Start in Ontonagon

The Miswald brothers started their brewery business in Ontonagon. In Dec 1893, Martin and Joseph of Rockland visited Ontonagon to explore the prospects of starting a brewery (24). Martin was stated to be "an experienced brewer", having worked at "one of the largest breweries in Duluth" (24). He claimed that he could manufacture a beer comparable to any brewery in Chicago or Milwaukee (24). The newspaper expressed support for having a local brewery by stating, "...the large amount of money which annually goes from this county to enrich the large brewing firms in Milwaukee will thereby be reduced and our county receive the benefit." (24). They converted the old Catholic church into their brewery and planned their first brew for 01 May 1894 (21). They released their beer on the market on 30 Jun 1894, and it was claimed to be "a first-class beverage, and second to no beer brought in from outside" (33). Beginning in Jan 1895, their beer was made with "pure Lake Superior water" (34). Bock beer was marketed in May 1895 (35). By late Nov 1895, they were supplying nearly all the beer consumed in the village of Ontonagon (36).

Expansion to L'Anse

The businessmen of L'Anse and Baraga had been corresponding for some time with the Miswald brothers about restarting the L'Anse brewery (36), which had been idle for almost three years following the death of its proprietor, Emil Meisler (1). In late Nov 1895, Martin visited L'Anse to see what arrangements could be made (36). In early Dec 1895, the Miswald brothers leased the L'Anse brewery from owner T. W. Edwards (1). Martin would move his family to L'Anse where he could give his personal attention to the L'Anse brewery, while the "other brothers" would tend to the business in Ontonagon (37). The newspaper announced on 01 Feb 1896 that the brewery was in running order (2).

Fire Strikes, Twice

The Miswald brothers were operating two breweries simultaneously in 1896, but their fortunes quickly turned. In the early morning of 22 Jul 1896, the L'Anse Brewery burned down (3). The building was situated on a hillside, which made it difficult for firefighters to access (3). L'Anse today has a road called Brewery Rd., so the brewery presumably existed on that road. Firefighters managed to save adjoining buildings, but the brewery was destroyed (3). Only the large vats in the cellar containing over 500 barrels of beer were left undamaged (3). It was believed that the fire started from the smokestack (3). An employee rooming on the third floor did not realize the fire until smoke and flames penetrated his room, and he had difficulty escaping (3). They had plans to erect a new brewery as soon as possible (3), but no such brewery materialized in L'Anse. Their L'Anse brewery operated for only six months.

One month later, on 25 Aug 1896, a great fire burned the village of Ontonagon (4), including the Miswald brewery (11). Only a dozen small houses at the edge of town were left standing (4). The fire had been burning in the woods southwest of town for two weeks and was nearly out (4). But then gale winds quickly swept the flames upon the town (4). The village's 2,000 residents fled and lost everything, but no lives were lost (4). Included in the destruction was the Diamond Match Company mill and 65 million feet of lumber in its yard (4). In Jul 1897, the Miswald Bros. had plans to rebuild the brewery on the same site (38), but two months later, they decided to move their business to Calumet (39).

A New Start in Calumet

In Sep 1897, the Miswald brothers purchased three lots (6) to build a new brewery in Calumet (5). Construction commenced at Lake View, 1.5 miles from the village (6). The road to the site was in poor condition and needed to be fixed so teams could get in with lumber and machinery (6). In Oct 1897, the foundations were laid and work commenced on the buildings (30). In Nov 1897, the main building was fast nearing completion with ongoing work on the roof (31). The brewery, named the Lake View Brewery (7,18), was completed in late Nov 1897 (7). It consisted of a main building for brewing and bottling, a barn, and a residence with offices (7). The machinery was nearly all new, with some salvaged from the Ontonagon brewery (6). Springs on the site would supply water for brewing (6).

The 1897 Polk directory lists Miswald Bros. & Co. as Martin, Joseph, and Alois Miswald, and Adolph Vogtlin (18). Alois was Martin and Joseph's sister (13), and Adolph was their brother-in-law through their eldest sister, Caroline (19). Their brand was called Lake View Beer (7).

In Jan 1898, they started brewing beer and renamed the brewery the Calumet and Red Jacket Brewery to appeal to a larger community (8). They filled their cellars with bottled and kegged beer and allowed the beer to season (9). They released their first brew on 28 Feb 1898 (32). By early Mar 1898, they had all the business they could handle and planned to increase production (10). In Jul 1898, workers erected poles along the road to wire the building for electricity and telephone (25).

The newspaper announced in Jun 1899 that John Stehle had purchased an interest in the company and the capital would be used to make improvements to the plant (27). The plans included building a new cellar, practically rebuilding the brewery, and installing new, modern machinery (27). The current production was too small to supply the demand, and the improvements would double production (27).

Fire Strikes a Third Time

In Jun 1899, the brewery burned down (11,40). It was said that they would rebuild at Lake View (40), but they did not. Their Calumet operation lasted for about 17 months and marked the end of their brief career as young brewers. In Sep 1899, the deputy sheriff auctioned off the supplies and brewery apparatus to satisfy a chattel mortgage, but the vats and other equipment did not sell (28). In Oct 1899, the mortgagors bought the vats, bottle washer, bottle corker, beer kettle, wagon, and other equipment (29). The National Park Service notes that the Miswald brothers sold the property to the Calumet Brewing Company in 1899 (26).

The local newspaper printed the following on 01 Aug 1899 (17):

When the Miswald brewery at Lake View burned down a month or more ago it was abandoned by the owners and proprietors just as the fire had left it. Standing in the ruins of the fire were several of the large vats used for brewing. At the time of the fire these vats were filled with beer and the beer was left in them. ... Young men and women who were berry-picking in the vicinity took the opportunity to get all the free beer they wanted and consequently there were a goodly number of drunks in that vicinity. Some children were among the number who got too much booze and the actions of some of the women who became intoxicated are said to have been shameful. Yesterday a gentleman who was disgusted with the thing went to the place and succeeded in emptying all the beer from the vats. ... The vats had hundreds of gallons of the fermented booze.

Life After Brewing

By Jul 1899, Joseph was running a saloon in Rockland (41). The 1900 U.S. Federal Census recorded Joseph as a machinist in Rockland (14).

The 1901 Polk directory list Martin as an engineer for the Calumet Brewing Co. (20). By 1905, he had moved his family to Milwaukee where he was a foreman in "bridge works" (15,16). In Sep 1906, when he visited his brother in Rockland, Martin was employed by the St. Paul railway in Milwaukee (42). In Jun 1916, Martin visited Rockland from Marquette (43).

Their lives went on, and today we are left with a beautiful artifact from their brief and checkered career as brewers. Copper Country collectors would be fortunate to have a Miswald bottle in their collections.

Citations

1. Another industry. (1895, Dec 07). The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
2. City items. (1896, Feb 01). The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
3. Another fire. (1896, Jul 25). The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
4. Entirely wiped out. (1896, Aug 29). The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
5. A new brewery. (1897, Sep 13). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
6. The new brewery. (1897, Sep 23). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
7. Lake View Brewery. (1897, Nov 29). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
8. Calumet and Red Jacket Brewery. (1898, Jan 05). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
9. Calumet and Red Jacket. (1898, Jan 17). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
10. [Untitled]. (1898, Mar 09). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
11. Pursued by fire. (1899, Jul 01). The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
12. U.S. Census Bureau. 1860 United States Federal Census. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
13. U.S. Census Bureau. 1880 United States Federal Census. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
14. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
15. State of Wisconsin. 1905 Wisconsin State Census. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
16. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
17. Beer free of charge. (1899, Aug 01). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
18. R. L. Polk & Co. (1897). Houghton County Directory 1897-98. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
19. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867–1952. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
20. R. L. Polk & Co. (1901). Houghton County Directory 1901-02. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
21. The new brewery. (1894, Apr 21). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
22. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
23. Michigan, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1867-1911. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
24. May get a brewery. (1893, Dec 23). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
25. [Untitled]. (1898, Jul 06). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 5.
26. National Park Service. (n.d.). Calumet Brewery. Retrieved 2021. www.nps.gov
27. More improvements. (1899, Jun 21). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
28. [Untitled]. (1899, Sep 19). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
29. Sale of brewery property. (1899, Oct 03). The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 5.
30. [Untitled]. (1897, Oct 21). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
31. Lake View booming. (1897, Nov 16). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
32. The new beer. (1898, Mar 01). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
33. Ontonagon beer. (1894, Jul 07). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
34. Our camera. (1895, Jan 26). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
35. Our camera. (1895, May 04). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
36. Branching out. (1895, Nov 30). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
37. Our camera. (1895, Dec 21). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
38. Our camera. (1897, Jul 03). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 3.
39. Going to Calumet. (1897, Sep 11). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 2.
40. Our camera. (1899, Jul 01). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 5.
41. Rockland pebbles. (1899, Jul 15). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 5.
42. Rockland news. (1906, Sep 08). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 4.
43. Rockland news. (1916, Jun 03). The Ontonagon Herald (Ontonagon, MI). p. 1.