A Brew Story About Rocketts Landing

Monday, July 13, 2009

After the Civil War, thousands of entrepreneurs from the North flooded the business markets of the defeated Southland’s major cities.  Richmond was no exception.  And among the budding business men headed to the capitol city was David Yuengling Jr., a second-generation German immigrant with beer brewing in his blood.

In 1866, Yuengling Jr. established the James River Steam Brewery at Rocketts Landing. The brewery was America’s first fully steam powered brewery and was located on grassy area just north of Fall Line.

In 1829, Yuengling Jr.’s father, David Sr., established D.G. Yuengling and Son, the oldest operating brewery in the US.  The newly founded establishment was called the Eagle Brewery back then. And for more reasons than one, David Jr. decided to leave it in 1866 to set up shop on the banks of the James River, according to Brooks Smith, the author of Facts and Legends: The Hills of Richmond.

“Back then, Richmond was known as a place for saloons, old-country beer recipes and all around good cheer,” said Smith, whose book examines the historical significance of the many hills surrounding Rocketts Landing. “Not only that, breweries from up North were especially attracted to the city’s cheap labor force and river access.”

Ice was imported up the James River on barges from Maine in order to keep freshly brewed beer cold. According to Smith, this was an expensive endeavor given the long distance the ice had to travel and the city’s warm climate.

“A lot of breweries in Richmond went out of business on account of how expensive the ice was,” he said.

In addition to importing ice, deep cellars were dug around the James River Steam Brewery to keep the stored beer out of the sunlight and as cold as possible.  The oldest beer cellar in Richmond, Smith said, is on Chimborazo Hill, north of Rocketts Landing. It served as a bomb shelter during World War II, but was filled with dirt sometime after that to keep out trespassers.

Rocketts Landing has its own abandoned beer cellar just behind the new pool. The cellar is now fenced off and has standing water on the floor. But it once would have been lined with clean brick and stacked with crates of beer. That is until the James River Steam Brewery closed only a couple years after its opening. The reason why and the exact date the brewery was shuttered remain unknown Smith said.

Rumor has it though that there are plans to turn the old beer cellar at Rocketts Landing into a restaurant in commemoration of the James River Steam Brewery. Smith said he supports the idea. But before any building takes place, he would like to put on some hip waders and take a look around down there. 
 

Photo: Flickr user Ourkid