Who's Haunting Busch Brewery?
John B. Busch
The “Washington Brewery” as it was originally called, was started in 1854 by 22 year old John Baptiste Busch, his brother Henry Busch, and a third partner named Fred Gersie. Gersie died in the 1860s and by the 1870s or so, John B. Busch was the sole owner and the company incorporated as the “John B. Busch Brewing Company”. As business grew, so did the brewery complex. Two major fires in the 19th century caused the building stock to be greatly changed and additions made as needed.
John B. Busch was an older brother of Adolphus Busch, who married Lily Anheuser and created the enormous Anheuser-Busch Company, based in St. Louis. John and Adolphus were two of about 21 children (all had the same father but he was married three times, fathering children with two out of the three).
John married Antonia Krumsick, daughter of a German-immigrant physician, and eventually had seven children who survived to adulthood, three having died in infancy. Several of John’s children became involved in the brewing business; two of the sons staying in Washington while others went to work for A-B in St. Louis. John himself was born in Germany and emigrated at the age of 17. He studied English and business at two colleges before settling in Washington, MO.
John B. Busch died at his home in 1894 at the age of 62. He stood 5’6” and weighed 350 pounds. His death was attributed to heart failure. For much of his later life he was confined to a wheelchair. Antonia lived for another twelve years.
During Prohibition, the local Busch’s sold the brewing equipment to a brewery in South America. They began making soda-pop, sold ice, and even tried getting into producing potato chips, but as no one in the 1920s had heard of a potato chip, it nearly bankrupted the company. Even after Prohibitions repeal, the company never made beer again.
Eventually, the JBBBCo became a distributor for A-B. In 1953, after 99 years in business, grandson Ulrich Busch Jr. locked the door on the brewery for the last time. Thereafter, one of the local corn-cob pipe companies used the building to store cobs as they dried.
Today, nearly 200 years after John Busch started his brewing business, the doors of this historic building are open once more and it seems some of its visitors never left.
Paranormal investigators who have visited report experiencing voices, odd sounds, shadows, and heaviness in parts of the brewery. Numerous witnesses have seen a man walking through the first floor kitchen area and the feeling of being watched as they investigate.
Psychics have picked up on several Civil War soldiers and children within the caverns where beer kegs were once stored. Other floors within the massive structure have proven quite active as well, with the uppermost floor housing a very heavy energy.
Would you like to experience what the old Busch Brewery has to offer? I will be hosting several classes, overnight investigations, and weekend events in the coming months and will list the information here as it becomes available.
John B. Busch was an older brother of Adolphus Busch, who married Lily Anheuser and created the enormous Anheuser-Busch Company, based in St. Louis. John and Adolphus were two of about 21 children (all had the same father but he was married three times, fathering children with two out of the three).
John married Antonia Krumsick, daughter of a German-immigrant physician, and eventually had seven children who survived to adulthood, three having died in infancy. Several of John’s children became involved in the brewing business; two of the sons staying in Washington while others went to work for A-B in St. Louis. John himself was born in Germany and emigrated at the age of 17. He studied English and business at two colleges before settling in Washington, MO.
John B. Busch died at his home in 1894 at the age of 62. He stood 5’6” and weighed 350 pounds. His death was attributed to heart failure. For much of his later life he was confined to a wheelchair. Antonia lived for another twelve years.
During Prohibition, the local Busch’s sold the brewing equipment to a brewery in South America. They began making soda-pop, sold ice, and even tried getting into producing potato chips, but as no one in the 1920s had heard of a potato chip, it nearly bankrupted the company. Even after Prohibitions repeal, the company never made beer again.
Eventually, the JBBBCo became a distributor for A-B. In 1953, after 99 years in business, grandson Ulrich Busch Jr. locked the door on the brewery for the last time. Thereafter, one of the local corn-cob pipe companies used the building to store cobs as they dried.
Today, nearly 200 years after John Busch started his brewing business, the doors of this historic building are open once more and it seems some of its visitors never left.
Paranormal investigators who have visited report experiencing voices, odd sounds, shadows, and heaviness in parts of the brewery. Numerous witnesses have seen a man walking through the first floor kitchen area and the feeling of being watched as they investigate.
Psychics have picked up on several Civil War soldiers and children within the caverns where beer kegs were once stored. Other floors within the massive structure have proven quite active as well, with the uppermost floor housing a very heavy energy.
Would you like to experience what the old Busch Brewery has to offer? I will be hosting several classes, overnight investigations, and weekend events in the coming months and will list the information here as it becomes available.
