Antique Bottles of Lewistown, PA

The following is a list of brewers that were operating in Lewistown in the 1860-1910 period. My research is incomplete on many of these brewers, and new information will be added as it is found. If any readers have information about them, I would like to hear from you.

The brewery at the mouth of Kish Creek is shown on the 1863 Lewistown atlas as possibly Geo. Walters or Gen Walters Brewery. The writing on the old atlas is hard to discern, and I have not been able to find anything on the early history of the brewery. More information is needed.

This is another early brewery that I have very little information about. The 1863 atlas lists the J. Fisher Brewery at the corner of South Main and East Water Streets. This brewery was later owned by Theodore Haeber in the 1870s and 80s, and was home to the Lewistown Bottling Works in the early 1900s. More information is needed on J. Fisher and his establishment there.

Theodore Haeber operated a brewery at the corner of South Main and East Water, at the former J. Fisher Brewery. Approximate years of operation for Haeber are 1874 to 1886, but more information is needed. Mr. Haeber's younger brother-in-law, John Brushe, also worked in the brewery.

John Henry Bossinger bought the brewery at the mouth of Kish Creek around 1870. Upon his death in 1879, the brewery was continued by his wife, Frederica, and his sons John H. "Henry" Bossinger, Jr. and Frederick Bossinger. The operation was sold in 1894 or 1895 to Charles B. Roper, who started the Lewistown Bottling Works there. 

Pictured below is a reconstructed slug plate from a MRS. F. BOSSINGER/ LEWISTOWN/ PA. beer bottle. I need an intact example for my collection. These bottles came in the standard beer size as well as larger size, which probably held a quart.

I am offering a substantial reward for any Bossinger bottles from Lewistown, in any condition.

The Lewistown Bottling Works had its beginning in 1894 or 1895, when Charles B. Roper purchased the former Bossinger brewery at the mouth of Kish Creek. Lewistown Bottling Works bottled beer, ale, porter and soda, and later made potato chips as well. Sometime between 1904 and 1910, the operation moved from the its original site to the corner of South Main and East Water Streets to the location that had formerly been occupied by the Fisher and Haeber breweries. Lewistown Bottling Works closed sometime after 1910 and prior to 1923. Shown here is a line of five different embossing variations of Lewistown Bottling Works tall blob top beer bottles, c. 1895 to early 1900s.