F&S Brewery Views

The original Fuhrmann and Schmidt Brewery was called Eagle Run Brewery and was located on the western end of Tharptown, hence the name Brewery Curve. Eagle Run began operations in 1854, headed by Gottlieb Fritz and later Ed Markle. The plant was purchased by P.H. Fuhrmann in 1886, the year before he and Max Schmidt formed the Fuhrmann and Schmidt Brewing Co. In 1912, the duo purchased the former Shamokin Brewing Co. building in the Fifth Ward of Shamokin for $77,000 at a bankruptcy sale. Main offices had already been located at the northeast corner of Commerce and Washington streets. Prior to prohibition, Fuhrmann and Schmidt incorporated the Shamokin Pure Food Products Co. and transferred the deed from F&S to Pure Food on Oct. 1, 1917. The plant was retooled and used to process food products, such as salad dressings and vinegar. On Aug. 10, 1926, the deed to the entire Shamokin plant was sold to Shamokin Beverage and Ice Co. for $310,000, which after inflation would be more than $4 million today. The firm sold back the property to F&S on Aug. 2, 1932, for $19,585.40, or some $332,000 today, for an unknown reason, but most likely due to the repeal of prohibition. Later in the company's history, in March 1966, Henry Ortleib, of Philadelphia, purchased the brewery. Beer was produced under the same name, although its founders were no longer affiliated with the business. By August 1973, Ortleib had sold the brewery to James D. Verrastro, a Williamsport native who had earned his money in the trucking business. The brewery experienced a huge blow in November 1974 when Verrastro declared voluntary bankruptcy and closed the factory doors. In the afternoon of Nov. 3, 1975, thousands of spectators watched as firefighters attempted to extinguish a massive fire at the former brewery, marking the permanent end of the business.