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That during 1864 and earlier a German named John Duerr operated a distillery at Bridgewater in a long frame building now owned and occupied by Mrs. Louisa R. Haffely, situated at the northern corner of the alley between Otter Lane and Fulton Street on the west side of Mulberry street? A general revenue act passed by Congress in June, 1864 placed a revenue tax of $1.00 per gallon on spiritous liquors and required revenue stamps on the containers. Duerr refused or neglected to comply with the law, though it is said he was warned several times what would happen. The law was new however, and its penalties had never yet been enforced locally. Besides he understood English very imperfectly, and probably did not think its drastic provisions would be invoked by his neighbors, friendly Beaver politicians, and it is probably a safe bet that some of them were his customers.
However, he gave heed to the admonitions so far as attempting to secrete his oldest stock by burying some of it in the yard, and hiding part elsewhere, but continued to daily manufacture and to dispose of less aged goods. Believing a raid would be finally necessary the officers suspicious of concealment watched the place for several days before acting but learned nothing, for Duerr's employees knew they were being spied upon and were very adroit.
Archibald Robertson of Old Brighton, was general Revenue Agent for the 24th district of Pennsylvania, but George W. Hamilton seems to have been an assistant in charge of the collections upon liquors, as Eli Reno was of tobacco manufacture. Hamilton's office was on the south side of Third Street west of College Avenue in Beaver. His attorney and confidential adviser was James S. Rutan, who in addition to being district attorney at this time was a leading Republican politician. Whatever Hamilton did was ascribed to Rutan's advice.
The story as related is that Hamilton and his assistants finally descended upon the establishment of Duerr and confiscated all the liquor they could find, which at first was not, a great deal. Some filled barrels were unearthed but there were plenty of empty ones about the premises. Then one of the officials went for a drink to the enormous tank in which pure water was kept for the manufacture of the output, and when the tap was turned received a tumbler full of whiskey instead. Having been tipped off to the intended raid, almost the entire stock of liquors had been poured out of the barrels into the tank by Duerr's men during the preceding night.
Wagons were procured from one of the May stables, the barrels refilled and the entire stock, except one barrel which was missed, hauled to Beaver. The disposition of such a large quantity was at first a problem, there being probably forty to fifty barrels. It is said that until space was made at Hamilton's office it was at first stored in the open square by the Court House in front of the office of Sam B.Wilson, Esq., now of George Wilson, and guards placed over it, one of whom was Cicero Turner. It began to promptly disappear and was then taken to the rear room and cellar of Hamilton's headquarters.
What was the final disposition of the liquor is a little vague. Hamilton is known to have sold considerable to local people for the price of the revenue charge which was almost giving it away; and part at least was shipped away in barrels via the C. & P.R.R. for aged Frank Moore of the sheriff's and Squire Springer's offices relates that he was present when some boys bored holes in the barrels on flat cars near the station and obtained a quantity. He was not embarrassed during his narrative by any injury as to whether he was one of the bunch or merely a spectator. You can ask him yourself. It is not an unreasonable assumption that many of the county politicians got their share. It was soon all disposed of in some manner, and at least 100 percent of it was not wasted in Beaver. It is asserted that some of that whiskey was in local cellars thirty-five years later.
The matter was a county sensation at the time and local sympathy was strongly inclined toward the old German, who it was believed would have complied with the new law had he been made to thoroughly understand the consequences of his failure to do so. Rutan had many bitter political enemies and the official action was ascribed to him, whether justly or not. Both he and Hamilton were greatly censured in causing the man to "break up" which was the result. Besides the public had misgivings as to any motive which took any quantity of good liquor to the raid but thirsty 'Co. seat' as old Bill Hepburn used to term a similar village in the Bingville Bugle. In 1870Duerrsold his property to Catherine Woerner, mother of the present owner, and removed to the neighborhood of East Palestine, Ohio.
At the same time Samuel Mason was maintaining a distillery on Wolf Run near Industry. He failed to heed the revenue law, but after several warnings from Hamilton's off ice, decided that there was no prof it on whiskey at 62 1-2 cents per gallon with a dollar tax on each, and dismantled his place of manufacture. But before doing so he transported about 25 barrels of liquor to the rear rooms of a grocery next to the Leaf house in Fallston kept by a relative, Benjamin Franklin, and quietly disposed of the same from that place in the succeeding months thus avoiding revenue stamps and preserving his product from confiscation.
Similar raids being now of daily occurrence, they were nevertheless at that time happenings of great moment.
Extracted from the News Tribune, May 8, 1928