THE WAUPACA COUNTY POST

June 22, 1970

 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO HEAR ABOUT ARNOLD BREWERY

 

The story of Waupaca’s one and only brewery, the Arnold Brewery, will be told when the Waupaca Historical Society meets Monday evening at the library classrooms.

Leading the discussion will be William Arnold, whose grandfather, Leonard, built the brewery in 1850  Recalling on his memory, William remembers that shortly after the Wisconsin Central Railroad came through Waupaca, the Arnolds, who lived at the brewery, boarded many of the crew members that worked on the railroad.

Before 1850 Arnold had a dray line from Stanley’s land, now Gooches, where he picked up his freight, that came by way of the Wolf River to the boat landing.  The dray line served the territory as far as Amherst Junction.  The brewery had one room where customers could sit at tables and order a stein of beer for a nickel.

All the barrels were made at the brewery and Arnold kept the Coopers there for that purpose.  The Arnold family included six girls and twin boys, Albert and Leonard.  Albert was the father of William Arnold and Mrs. Stell Feragen.  The twin boys were on the Waupaca police force in 1900 and one daughter, Frances, was an attorney in Ellendale, N.D.

There will be some who will remember that the senior Leonard Arnold had his arm shot off, while ramming the wadding in the cannon that stood, at one time, in the courthouse square. The incident happened July 4, 1869 when the cannon went off unexpectedly. In 1889 Leonard helped to plant the trees in the courthouse yard, that was formerly enclosed by a fence.