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Overview

At least two owners controlled the Seattle Brewery during the 1870s. By 1876, Andrew Slorah, who had lived in San Francisco in the early 1870s, assumed control of the enterprise, and ran it into the 1880s. For at least some of the this time, he had a partner, A.H. King.

in 1876, Andrew Slorah and Company managed the Seattle Brewery operating on the corner of 4th Avenue and Mill Street (later renamed Yesler Way) in Seattle, WA. (See Kirk C. Ward, Business Directory of the City of Seattle for the Year 1876, [Seattle: B.L. Northrup, Printer, 1876], p. 41.)

Building History

In 1872, Stuart Crichton ran the Seattle Brewery at its 4th Avenue and Mill Street location. (See The Puget Sound Directory and Guide to Washington Territory, 1872, [Olympia, WA: Murphy and Harned, 1872], n.p.) By 1876, Andrew Slorah had purchased the business, and also ran a beer hall with a business partner, A.H. King.

Brewery owner Andrew Slorah (born c. 1841 in Oswegatchie, NY-d. 12/06/1911 in Los Angeles, CA) was born in the northern NY town of Oswegatchie, NY, but moved to the border town of Edwardsburgh, ON, (about 60 miles north) as a boy. He served in the Civil War during 1863-1864 as a 1st Lieutenant in the Union Army's 3rd Regiment, New York Provisional Cavalry, before heading West, c. 1870. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1851; Census Place: Grenville, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C-11724; Page: 9; Line: 11, accessed 12/29/2020 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation: New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, New York; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900; Archive Collection #: 13775-83; Box #: 552; Roll #: 896, accessed 12/29/2020.)

He resided in San Francisco, CA, in 1871, working as a clerk, before making his way north to Seattle by the mid-1870s. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 41; FHL Roll Number: 977096, accessed 12/29/2020.)

In 1880, the brewery may have been doing a good business, as the US Census indicated that owner Andrew Slorah and his wife, Sarah Clarke Slorah (born c. 1847 in MA), could afford to maintain a domestic servant, Mary Fisher (born c. 1863 in WI). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: 1396; Page: 242D; Enumeration District: 007, accessed 12/29/2020.) This marriage didn't last too long, and they were no longer together by the 1890s.

During the period 1890-1911, Slorah's name appeared in various places, living in Los Angeles at the Soldiers' Home there in 1896, working as a miner in Columbia, Tuolumne, CA, in 1898, and residing in Jacksonville, FL, with his brother, J.C. Slorah (born c. 12/1864), for a time in 1900. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation: California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 22; FHL Roll Number: 976931, and Ancestry.com, Source Citation, Year: 1900; Census Place: Jacksonville, Duval, Florida; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0047; FHL microfilm: 1240168, accessed 12/29/2020.) By 1907, however, Slorah was back in Seattle working as a bookkeeper. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle City Directory, 1907, p. 1058.)

He died in Los Angeles, CA, in 1911, and was buried in the Veterans' Cemetery at Sepulveda Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, adjacent to the Soldiers' Home in which he lived in 1896. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information: California, U.S., Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, accessed 12/29/2020.)

Building Notes

In 1876, Andrew Slorah and A.H. King operated a beer hall a block east of the brewery at 5th Avenue and Mill Street. (See See Kirk C. Ward, Business Directory of the City of Seattle for the Year 1876, [Seattle: B.L. Northrup, Printer, 1876], p. 78.) The Washington Teritorial Census continued to list him as a brewer in 1885.(See Ancestry.com, Source Information: Washington, U.S., State and Territorial Censuses, 1857-1892 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006, accessed 12/29/2020.) By 1889, Slorah operated his own saloon at 920 Front Street (1st Avenue). (SeeR.L. Polk and Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1889, p. 561.)

As shown on an 1884 fire insurance map produced by the New York-based Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, the Seattle Brewery complex consisted of a main brewing building in which kettles, mash and steep tubs were located, a bottling room building to the southeast and a small shed to the south. Another shed was appended to the main building's northwest corner.

PCAD id: 23817