Henry Hoffman's house

There is a small red brick house at the northwest corner of Walton Avenue and Fulton Road, which is one of the oldest houses in the community of Fulton, Clark. This is all the remnants of Henry Hoffman's dream of building a great brewery in Cleveland. 1845, Hoffman, 18 years old, immigrated to the United States from Hesse Kassel, Prussia (now central Germany). He first settled in an independent town in Ohio, where he got married, started a family and became a farmer on his own land. Sometimes, at the end of the civil war, Hoffman moved to Cleveland for historical reasons, although it may be because of the death of his first wife. He remarried on 1865, and his age was 1868 and 4 1 respectively. With a dream, he bought a large piece of land, extending from Walton Avenue to Irene Avenue and to the west of Rhodes Avenue (Fulton Road). By 1870, he had built and operated a small brewery in several commercial buildings he had built. He also built a small red brick house in which he and his family lived. What we are going to say today is that he is now realizing his dream.

According to the Cleveland catalog, Hoffman Brewery is one of more than a dozen breweries operated by 1870 here. Many, if not most, wineries like Hoffman are owned by German immigrants and built to meet the "needs" of their neighbors. However, within a few years, Hoffman expanded the brewery and added a brick pub at 1878. According to an industry publication, Hoffman is one of the famous winemakers in Cleveland, so his customers can "have a beer without disturbing the brewery workers". Hoffman must feel that he has embarked on the road to becoming a big and successful brewer like German immigrant Carl Grilling. His fast-growing brewery is only one mile from West 25th Street and one block south of West Market.

Why doesn't Hoffman feel this way? He expanded the production capacity of the brewery to enable it to produce 8,000 barrels (248,000 gallons) of German beer every year. He is carefully training his son William to help him further develop his career. He is the leader of several important brotherly organizations in Cleveland. In 1874, he was elected as a member of the 12 constituency. This is the ward on the west side, covering almost Cleveland today.

Clark Fulton and Dunshi community, so Henry Hoffman didn't become the next karger Li Lin. Just two years later, in 1880, the local newspaper began to report that 12 District Council member Hoffman was seriously ill. 1880165438+1October 23rd, he passed away. It is said that the cause of death was stomach cancer. Hoffman was re-elected the year before last, only 53 years old.

Henry Hoffman's funeral was held in Cleveland. The city Council passed a condolence resolution. The flag at Gongga Square (then known as Monument Park) was flown at half mast in mourning. The priest delivered a touching eulogy (in German). Klein held a ceremony at Zion Church on Janus Avenue (West 14 Street), which is now the Tremont community. At the same time, Hoffman's colleague was a coffin carrier, and he was buried in a cemetery by the river. His status as a city Council member and business leader ensured all the pomp and ceremonies. After Hoffman's death, his son William and a partner tried to run the brewery, but within two years they were heavily in debt and sued by many creditors. The little red brick house and brewery, the igloo and everything were sold to one of the creditors, Miller spangler, a millionaire malt liquor merchant. Spangler used part of the brewery to store malt and rented the rest to others. He also rented Hoffman's little red brick house. A few years later, the brewery and the nearby igloo were mysteriously burned to the ground. The rest of the buildings were later razed to the ground. Therefore, the new H house is built on the land that used to be a brewery. In the end, Henry Hoffman's dream was just the little red brick house on the corner of Walton and Fulton.

In the decades after the fire, this house was originally used as a shop. Later, it was changed to a family of two. Later, another building was built on the south side of the building, which was operated by various small retail enterprises, and the rest was used as houses. Finally, the last occupant of the house sold it at 1990, and since then, it has been used exclusively as a retail office for local locksmiths.