George Basserman
George Anton Basserman (4 October 1832 – 27 September 1887) was a brewery owner in the Cedar Hill neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut during the late 19th century. Born in what is now Germany in 1832, and came to New Haven in 1851.
Basserman was owner of the Rock Brewery on State and Rock St.[1] He blasted a cellar in at the foot of East Rock to start his brewery under which he excavated a cellar, 200 feet deep, 24 feet wide, and 16 feet high, for storing his brewings.[1] The average production of this brewery was from 15,000 to 20,000 barrels a year. Once in business, he made a large bottling plant. The brewery proper comprised a three-story building, partly of stone, 185 by 50 feet in dimensions, while the attached sheds and barns covered an area 688 by 50 feet. It was also remembered for its authentic German beer gardens, built next to the brewery. Although the building was destroyed in a fire, part of the wall remains. Across the street he built a residence for his employees, which was later known as the "George Basserman Building".[2]
1886 The State of Connecticut vs Basserman:[3] A complaint was filed against Basserman for selling "intoxicating" liquors. He was found guilty of selling lager in Hamden, CT without a license.
George Basserman was married to Johannette. They had a son named George Anton Basserman, II. After his father's death, G.A. Basserman II sold the Rock Brewery in 1888 to a John M. Manning of Buffalo, a brother of the late Daniel Manning. He had plans to enlarge it until the fire.[4]
Basserman's granddaughter Anna Basserman married William Hall August 2, 1914.[5] The Hall family still owns several properties in the Cedar Hill community.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Battista, Carolyn (1998-12-13). "New Haven, a City Of Beer Making (Until Prohibition)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
- ^ Atwater, Edward Elias (1887). "History of the city of New Haven to the present time : Atwater, Edward E. (Edward Elias), 1816-1887, ed". Internet Archive. p. 141. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
- ^ John T. Cook (1886). The Eastern Reporter: Containing All the Decisions of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as Soon as They are Filed, with Statement of the Case. William Gould. p. 597.
- ^ "Meriden Daily Republican - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ Everett Gleason Hill (1918). A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County. S. J. Clarke. p. 522.
External links[edit]
- NY Times article with George Basserman name in it in 1876, It was a group of Beer brewery men fighting the IRS and the Government to not restrict them.
- Directory listing for Rock Brewery 1874 pg 260
- Enterprise hall of Fame - George Basserman