Bomberger's Distillery
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Bomberger's Distillery
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| Location | Michter's Rd., Newmanstown, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°16′36.9″N 76°19′12.7″W / 40.276917°N 76.320194°WCoordinates: 40°16′36.9″N 76°19′12.7″W / 40.276917°N 76.320194°W |
| Area | 0.4 acres (0.16 ha) |
| Built | 1840 |
| Architect | John Kratz; Abe Bomberger |
| NRHP Reference # | 75001649 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 26, 1975 |
| Designated NHL | January 16, 1980 |
Bomberger's Distillery, more recently Michter's Distillery, is believed to be the first distillery established in what is now the United States. The complex, located near Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, represents the transformation of whiskey distilling from an agricultural enterprise into a large-scale industry. The surviving still house, warehouse, and jug house date from about 1840, but the site has a documented history of spirit production since 1753. Bomberger's was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980. The facility was America's smallest commercial distiller at the time of its 1989 closure.
In 1753, John and Michael Shenk, Swiss Mennonite farmers, began distilling rye whiskey at the site. John Shenk's son-in-law, Rudolph Meyer, acquired the distillery and another relative, John Kratzer, ran the business from 1827 to about 1860. Several of the buildings date to Kratzer's tenure. About 1860, Abraham Bomberger, a Pennsylvania Dutchman who had ties to the Shenk family, purchased the distillery from the Kratzer family. With Prohibition the distillery closed in 1919. Ephraim Sechrist bought the distillery in 1920, but did not operate it until 1934 after Prohibition ended, selling it to Louis Forman in 1942. Forman sold the distillery soon after he was drafted for service in World War II, but repurchased it in 1950 after two other owners. One of these owners was Schenley Distilleries.
Forman and his master distiller, Charles Everett Beam, of the well known Kentucky distilling family, designed a premium old-fashioned pot-still mash whiskey that they named "Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey" after Forman's sons Michael and Peter.
In 1951 Forman distilled the first batch of Michter's, but by the time it had aged the required six years a recession prevented him from selling it. The distillery was acquired by Pennco Distillers, while Forman kept the formula and the aged whiskey. Pennco then used the facility for contract distilling until 1978 and Forman distributed Michter's Whiskey through his liquor wholesaling business. About 1978 Forman and his Lebanon County backers organized Michter’s Distillery, Inc., which bought the distillery at the foreclosure sale of Pennco. Mitcher's and the distillery finally closed in 1989 after a bankruptcy filling.
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