The Twin Homes of the Kuebeler Brothers

The homes of August and Jacob Kuebeler were pictured in the 1894 publication, Art Work of Huron and Erie Counties. Built in 1885, the residence of August Kuebeler was at 1319 Tiffin Avenue, and is still standing. Jacob Kuebeler had an almost identical home built across the street at 1318 Tiffin Avenue. It no longer stands. Dick’s Carry Out is now at this location.

You can see the location of the Kuebeler brothers’ homes in an early 20th century Sanborn Insurance Map:

The Kuebeler homes are in pink, roughly facing each other

Before 1915, the addresses were 909 and 910 Tiffin Avenue. The former Kuebeler homes were built in the Eastlake architectural style. Each home was three stories high, constructed from brick, with decorative trim around the windows.

The brothers were prominent in the brewing industry in Sandusky, Ohio. The Kuebeler brewery was established in 1867.

The Kuebeler brewing plant was on Tiffin Avenue near Broadway on Sandusky’s west side. (You can see the proximity of the plant to the men's homes in the map above.) It was built in 1893 after the previous plant had been destroyed by fire. In 1896 the Kuebeler and Stang breweries merged. Two years later the Kuebeler-Stang brewery became part of the Cleveland Sandusky Brewing Company. Most of the Sandusky breweries closed during Prohibition, but one of the former Kuebeler-Stang plants manufactured soft drinks into the mid 1930s.

For several years the former home of August Kuebeler housed the Erie County Detention facility. Longtime city commissioner George Mylander was a direct descendant of Jacob Kuebeler.

Sanborn Maps, An Invaluable Historical Resource

 

The Sanborn Map Company published maps between 1867 and 1970 to help fire insurance companies determine potential risks for buildings in American cities. While their value for insurance policies has long ended, these maps serve a new purpose for historians and family history researchers. Precise locations of buildings and streets are included on the maps, as well as the types of construction materials used, water sources available, and how buildings were heated, among other information. While individual property owners are not usually given, researchers can find out the location of the homes and places of employment of their ancestors. 

At the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, Sanborn Maps can be accessed in a variety of formats. There are physical copies of the 1886 and 1905 atlases stored in the Archives, another atlas, with revisions into the 1950s, is also available for viewing. Microfilm roll 6885 contains copies of the 1886, 1893, and 1905 Sanborn Maps for Sandusky. And a digital collection of 40,000 Sanborn Maps of Ohio cities is accessible to Ohio library users through OPLIN Databases. This digital collection can be accessed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to holders of Ohio library cards. Some examples from this collection are below.

The J. Kuebeler and Company Brewery was located on the west side of Sandusky in 1886, on Tiffin Avenue.

This 1886 Sanborn Map shows locations of the Kuebeler brewery’s malt storage, fermenting unit and ice houses, along with many other details about the facility.

The Sandusky Library appeared on page 25 of the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map.

In the original library building, the reading room in the east wing of the Carnegie building had a skylight, and a music hall was in the west wing, complete with an area for storing scenery. Notes indicate that the library was heated with steam heat.

The street names and house numbers found on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps seem to come alive when one can locate photographs taken of a specific location. Below is a section of the 1893 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map which shows the corner of Monroe and Hancock Streets.

William Brehm had a dry goods store at 631 Hancock Street in 1893. The front window of Mr. Brehm’s store is visible in the picture below which also shows car number 9 of the Sandusky, Milan and Norwalk Electric Railway in 1893.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Sandusky.

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Greenfelder, Jr.

Jacob Greenfelder, Jr. was born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1851, shortly after his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Greenfelder, Sr., emigrated from Bavaria to the United States. Jacob, Jr. worked for many years as a traveling sales agent for the Kuebeler Brewery (pictured below). He was a charter member of the Western Reserve Lodge No. 128, Knights of Pythias.

In 1874 Jacob Greenfelder,Jr. married Henrietta Lange, the daugher of well known Sandusky druggist, F.R. Lange. Dr. Ernst von Schulenberg was the officiating minister.

Henrietta Lange, often known as “Aunt Hattie,” was born in Sandusky in 1854, to F.R. and Emilie Lange. Henrietta’s mother died when she was young.

In the early 1890s, Henrietta Lange Greenfelder and Mrs. William Altstaetter co-founded the German Ladies’ Sewing Circle, later known as the United Ladies’ Sewing Circle. The ladies met weekly. Members sewed bedding for local hospitals, and made charitable contributions for those in need in the community, especially women and children. Though she had moved to Cincinnati by 1916, Mrs. Greenfelder came back to Sandusky when the United Ladies’ Sewing Circle celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary. An article in the January 26, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that “many burdens have been lightened and hearts made glad” by the work and thoughtfulness of the members of the United Ladies’ Sewing Circle. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Greenfelder, Jr. moved to Cincinnati in 1897, where the both died in 1925; they were buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. Many friends and family still living in Sandusky mourned their loss.

Products Sold by the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company

According to this advertisement, which appeared in the December 18, 1906 issue of the Sandusky Register, several types of beer could be delivered to Sandusky homes in 1906. Two dozen pints of C & S Special beer sold for $1.25. A case of Hof-Brau beer also sold for $1.25. A case of Crystal Rock or Amber beer sold for $1.00. 

The Stang Brewery on King Street

From about 1898 until Prohibition, the Kuebeler-Stang plants of the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company distributed beer locally. In the 1904-1905 Sandusky City Directory listed Jacob Kuebeler as the first vice president and general manager of the local plants, while John E. Stang served as the assistant manager. The general office of the company was on the east side of Tiffin Avenue, near the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad. The branch office was on the east side of King Street, north of Madison Street.

Frank Stang started the Stang Brewing Company in 1880. His younger brother John Stang took over as president in 1890. Pictures of John Stang and Jacob Kuebeler appear in the 1895 publication, Men of Sandusky.

Jacob and August Kuebeler founded the Kuebeler Brewing Company in 1867. Around 1885 the Kuebeler brothers both built virtually identical large brick homes on Tiffin Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kuebeler lived at 1318 Tiffin Avenue. (This home no longer stands.) The August Kuebeler residence was built at 1319 Tiffin Avenue, and is still standing today.

The Kuebeler & Stang Breweries merged in 1896.  Two years later the Kuebeler-Stang Breweries merged with Cleveland breweries to form the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company. Many breweries closed during Prohibition, but the Stang plant continued doing business as Crystal Rock Products Company, selling soft drinks. The picture below shows a float sponsored by the Kuebeler Stang Brewing Company in the late 1800s.

To read more about the Kuebeler and Stang Brewing Companies and other brewing companies, see the book, Brewing Beer in the Buckeye State, by Dr. Robert A. Musson, available for loan through the CLEVNET system.

The Kuebeler and Stang Breweries

The production of beer was a major industry in nineteenth century Sandusky, with the Kuebeler and Stang families among the most successful brewers. In 1880 the Stang Brewery was founded from an earlier brewery that had first been operated by Phillip Dauch and Andrew Fischer. The Stang Brewing Company was located at the corner of Madison and King Streets. (Shown here in 1940, long after the plant was closed.)

Frank Stang started the Stang Brewing Company. His younger brother John Stang took over as president in 1890. Pictures of John Stang and Jacob Kuebeler appear in the 1895 publication, Men of Sandusky.

Jacob and August Kuebeler founded the Kuebeler Brewing Company in 1867. About 1885 the Kuebeler brothers both built virtually identical large brick homes on Tiffin Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kuebeler lived at 1318 Tiffin Avenue. (This home no longer stands.) The August Kuebeler residence was built at 1319 Tiffin Avenue, and is still standing today.

The Kuebeler Brewing Company was on Tiffin Avenue.

 The Kuebeler & Stang Breweries merged in 1896.  Two years later the Kuebeler-Stang Breweries merged with Cleveland breweries to form the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company. Many breweries closed during Prohibition, but the Stang plant continued doing business as Crystal Rock Products Company, selling soft drinks. The picture below shows a float sponsored by the Kuebeler Stang Brewing Company in the late 1800s.

To read more about the Kuebeler and Stang Brewing Companies and other brewing companies, see the book, Brewing Beer in the Buckeye State, by Dr. Robert A. Musson, available for loan through the ClevNet system.

Marriage of Annette Kuebeler and William Dehnel

On September 18, 1894, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. August Kuebeler, Annette, married William Dehnel, the son of Sandusky jeweler Henry Dehnel.

An undated Sandusky Register article on file in the biographical files of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, reported that the couple was married at the Tiffin Avenue home of Mr. and Mrs. August Kuebeler. August Kuebeler and his brother Jacob Kuebeler were associated with the Kuebeler Brewing and Malting Company. The Kuebeler brewery was one of the largest businesses in the city, and later became part of the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company.

August and Jacob Kuebeler built identical homes on Tiffin Avenue. (You can see one of the homes in the image above.) The August Kuebeler home, now privately owned, still stands at 1319 Tiffin Avenue.

The wedding was officiated by the Rev. A. H. Dornbirer. The ceremony took place “in the presence of the immediate families of the high contracting parties.” After the ceremony, the newlyweds took a trip to New York City and Niagara Falls. The article about the Kuebeler-Dehnel marriage concluded with, “Mr. William A. Dehnel is a highly respected young business man, and his bride is a young lady whose excellent personal qualities have endeared her to a host of friends, all of whom will extend hearty wishes for the future welfare of the newly married couple.

William A. Dehnel passed away at his home at 1319 Tiffin Avenue on November 22, 1931. His funeral was held at his home on November 24, 1931, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.  Mrs. Annette Dehnel died on June 19, 1952, and she was buried in Oakland Cemetery. At the time of her death in 1952, Mrs. Annette Kuebeler Dehnel had been residing with her daughter Lucile Dehnel Burch.

Businesses on Tiffin Avenue

The 1855 Sandusky City Directory lists several businesses on Tiffin Avenue, including a barber, cooper, blacksmith, and a grocer. David Bruckner and Florian Ulmer had a blacksmith shop on Tiffin Avenue near Monroe Street in the 1880s.

Mrs. Conrad Frank’s bakery was located first at Tiffin Avenue, but later moved to Columbus Avenue.

The Kuebeler brewing plant was built on Tiffin Avenue near Broadway Street in 1893, after the previous brewery was destroyed in a fire. In 1896 the Kuebeler and Stang breweries merged to form the Kuebeler-Stang Brewing Company. Two years later the Kuebeler- Stang Brewery became part of the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company. Most of the breweries in Sandusky closed during Prohibition. One of the Kuebeler-Stang plants survived by making soft drinks, but it too closed in 1935, and all remaining beer production moved to Cleveland.

The Industrial Nut Corporation, which began as the Brightman Nut and Manufacturing Company, has been located on Tiffin Avenue for one hundred years.

George J. Bing built carriages at his garage on Tiffin Avenue in the early twentieth century, before his untimely death in 1914.

Many businesses have come and gone (and many still remain) on Tiffin Avenue, including Kerber’s Marine Grocery, Pietschman’s Shoes, and a variety of restaurants, gas stations, drugstores, and other businesses. A major Erie County employer, Ford Motor Company, now known as Automotive Components Holdings, opened an assembly plant on Tiffin Avenue in 1955. The picture below shows local Ford employees working in the 1960s.