Peru, IL: Breweries and Coal Mines

While studying a 1916 Sanborn Map trying to understand the scope of the Illinois Zinc Co. and to find freight houses, I found some breweries and coal mines. It was a little difficult finding where they would have been now because many more streets went through to Water Street in 1916. And a good number of the north/south streets have been renamed.

• Star Union Brewing: both sides of Jefferson (now Pike) Street just north of the Rock Island tracks. The brewery does not appear on the 1939 aerial photo. (Sheet 5)
• Peru Beer: Because of all of the renamed streets, this one was particularly hard to find. Fortunately, it still existed in the 1939 aerial photo so I was able to get the context needed to determine that it was south of what is now the north/south Rock Street between Center Street and the CSX+IAIS/Rock Island tracks. (Sheet 9) (Update: They moved. See below for more information.)

I found two coal mines down by the railroad tracks.

• The Illinois Zinc Co., Coal Mine #3 was south of the Rock Island tracks and just a little to the West of Peru Beer. (Sheet 9, but access is now restricted :-()
• Carbon Coal Co.'s Union Shaft was just east of the Westclox buildings. (Sheet 12, but access is now restricted :-()

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

The red rectangle delineates the buildings of the Peru Beer Co. The yellow rectangle delineates the buildings of the Illinois Zinc Co., Coal Mine #3.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

The red rectangle delineates the buildings of the Union Shaft of the Carbon Coal Co.

This photo has been moved to "LaSalle County Carbon Coal Mine #1"

Bruce Liebe  posted
Here is a bottle of "Rocket Beer" brewed by the Peru Product Company of Peru, IL. The brewery was also known locally as Hebel's Brewery. The label depicts a CRI&P passenger train which appears to consist of a TA diesel and a four car articulated trainset. This brewery sat to the north of the Rock Island tracks and was served by the RI back in the day. The brewery closed in 1943. The Rock served another brewery on the west side of Peru, the Star Union Products Company. The Peru Products/Hebel's brewery still stands. Star Union closed in 1966 and with the exception of the bottling building, has been torn down.

Frank Smitty Schmidt posted
1868 CRI&P (?) taking on a load of beer from a brewery in Peru IL.
Richard FiedlerGroup Admin Look at that primitive roadbed and hand hewn untreated ties on a mud bed. Seems that the line was recently constructed.
John Purvis I used to live in Peru. There were two breweries at the time, Union Beer (Later changed to Star Union) and the Peru Beer company. The old water tower for Peru Beer is still standing.

John Purvis commented on Frank's posting
Here's a photo of the old water tower sitting next to the original Peru Beer home office.
Dennis DeBruler Thanks. They moved east of the location that I had found on a 1916 map. The key was the "Farm" street sign. https://www.google.com/.../@41.3268293,-89.../data=!3m1!1e3

3D Satellite

Three of the five photos posted by John Joseph Walsh III.

a

b

c

Andy Zukowski posted five photos with the comment:

PERU BEER COMPANY 

Peru Beer Co. Brewery opened in 1889 and closed in 1920 it was open for 31 years. Peru Beer Co. Brewery was located in Peru, IL.

Allison Rooney: Started by my great great grandfather, Andreas Hebel. He was from the Bavarian portion of Germany where they, of course, were master brewers. 😁

Some of the framed photos on the wall at Stone Jug are Peru Beer Co and are from my Dad’s collection that he inherited from his father and grandfather.

Nancy Way: My great great grandfathers brewery 😊 Thank you for sharing.

Holly Hebel Anderson: This is so cool...my great great fathers, what a legacy!!

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Andy Zukowski posted
Aerial view of Peru, Illinois. Early 1900’s
[As some comments discuss, was this taken from a balloon?]

 

Andy Zukowski posted
Peru Beer Co. Brewery in Peru, Illinois. Postcard dated 1912

This photo has been moved to "LaSalle County Carbon Coal Jones Mine."

This photo has been moved to "LaSalle County Carbon Coal Jones Mine."

This photo has been moved to "LaSalle County Carbon Coal Jones Mine."