South Hannibal brewery once tucked into Fulton Ave., hillside

The vast green hillside that veers east of Fulton Avenue was once part of the Kleine's Brewery property. It is believed that all of the buildings are now removed, and have been replaced by houses. The brewery was located on Fulton Avenue from circa 1879 until the early 1900s. Photo contributed by Robert Spaun.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

In 1907, the structures that once served as Kleine’s Brewery on Fulton Avenue - located just south of where the street is intersected by Edwards - stood abandoned.

The associated buildings - in place since the late 1870s - most certainly served as a curiosity to those passing by on the city’s electric-powered street cars, on horseback, on foot, or riding in horse-drawn wagons.

The aging buildings remained a source of curiosity for people living and traversing along this viable South Hannibal route, many of whom still remembered the role played by the brewery, ice house and saloon, all tucked into the hillside on the east side of Fulton Avenue.

In July 1907, The Hannibal Morning Journal picked up on the whispers of hauntings taking place in the old buildings, and sent a reporter across Bear Creek to South Hannibal in order to follow up on the town talk.

In the July 12, 1907 edition, the newspaper asked: “Are you afraid of ‘spooks?”

“If you are you had not better venture in the vicinity of the old South Side brewery; it is haunted. This is no joke and anyone who in the least doubts that statement can walk past the place between 10:30 and 11 o’clock at night and they will see the ghost.”

Those who had witnessed the ghost offered a deft description:

“It being very tall and thin, and say it is even bold enough at times to cross the road in the light.”

“The ‘spook’ first made its appearance Monday night (July 8) and has been seen every night this week regularly at 10:30 o’clock.”

Naturally, the nightly sightings generated much interest from the residents of Fulton Avenue.

“Every night a number visit the nightly haunts of the ghost and many have seen it.

“A number are preparing to pay a visit to the old brewery tonight and solve the mystery surrounding the ‘spook.’”

Fulton landmark

Via a perusal of published Hannibal sources, including newspapers and reference books, the first mention of the South Side (aka Kleine) Brewery was found in 1879. It was one of three breweries doing business in Hannibal, each operated by men of German heritage:

City Brewery, Geo. Riedel, proprietor, Grand Avenue;

William Schanbacher, Lindell Avenue near Market; and

Henry C. Kleine, Fulton Avenue.

In 1885, Kleine, his wife, Louisa, and three children, Augusta, Henry L., and Elizabeth, lived at 1055 Fulton Ave. The address of the brewery was 1053, 1055 and 1057 Fulton. (In 2026, that roughly translates to 1500, 1506 and 1514 Fulton Ave.)

The 1879 Hannibal city directory includes Albert Schaub as a brewer at Kleine’s Brewery. The 1881 directory names two Hannibal men who were employed at the brewery: George Scheibl, foreman, and John Brummer. Both lived on the brewery premises.

The brewery

The compound consisted of a two-story stone building, with the brewing facility on the first floor and the barley stage on the second floor.  The building also contained a malt kiln and cooler on the first floor and a malt mill and storage on the second floor. Attached to the buildings was a surface cooler, a store room and office. To the south of the office, there was a large rectangular ice house. At the south end of the property there was a two-story brick dwelling, with a beer cellar in the basement. (Descriptions based upon an illustration provided with the 1899 Sanborn map.)

Accident

The Quincy Daily Whig in its Jan. 12, 1883 edition, reported on a fall that could have claimed the brewery owner’s life.

“Henry C. Kleine and George Munckton (ice dealer) went into the ice house at Kleine’s brewery for the purpose of seeing how much ice there was in the house. While climbing up on the ice Kleine slipped and fell backwards out of the door of the house to the ground, a distance of 8 feet. His head struck upon a small, sharp rock, one corner made a hole in his skull at a place just back of the ear. Mr. Kleine was removed to the house with the blood pouring from his nose and ears. He was in an almost unconscious condition. Dr. (J.C.) Hearne was summoned to see him and found his injuries apparently serious. He had partially recovered from the shock of the fall, however, and when the doctor left him he was resting easily. It is impossible yet to say what the result of Kleine’s Injury may be, but there is reason to believe that he will speedily recover.”

Family

Henry C. and Louisa Kleine had three children who grew to maturity in Hannibal.

Augusta C. Kleine (1862-1953) was married to John W. Holmes on Dec. 18, 1889. They subsequently moved to Quincy, Ill., where by the time the census taker came to call in 1900, they had one son, William H. Holmes, and Augusta’s mother, Louisa, at age 61, was living with them. (This suggests that Louisa and Henry C. Kleine had obtained a divorce.) Augusta Holmes moved with her husband and mother to California, and ultimately they settled in Portland, Ore. That’s where Louisa Kleine died in 1913. Augusta Kleine Holmes died in Portland in 1953.

Henry L. Kleine (1864-1903) was married to Minerva Springer of Green City, Mo., in 1885. They lived in Quincy, Ill., where Henry worked as an agent for the O.K. rail line. They had three children: Allen Lloyd Kleine (1888-1892); Rachel Pearl Kleine (1891-1892) and Henry Floyd Kleine (1886-1947). They ultimately moved to Green City, Mo., where Henry died March 14, 1903. His wife died in 1941.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Kleine  (circa 1868-1927) and Joseph Schnicke were married in July 1885. Lizzie Schnicke moved to St. Louis with her husband, who ultimately became a diamond dealer. She died in 1927, leaving no children.

Henry C. Kleine, the brewery owner, in turn, was married to Mrs. Sophia Gerler of Denver, Colo., in October 1892. He died in 1899, and is buried in Section G, Hannibal’s Riverside Cemetery. The surname on his tombstone is spelled “Klein,” but there is a supplemental marker with the name spelled “Kleine.” (Source Find A Grave.)

An account in the Quincy newspaper indicates that all three of his adult children were in attendance in Hannibal for their father’s funeral.

House replaces brewery

The house that stands (in 2026) at 1500 Fulton Avenue (just to the south of where Edwards Street intersects with Fulton) was owned and occupied by Louis B. and Kathryn Carl as early as 1911, and was located on lots 1, 2 and 3, Block 12, Wardlaw Addition. The address at that time was 1111 Fulton. The house and property were sold at a partition sale in April 1915.

Mrs. Minnie H. Glascock (1864-1944) owned and occupied this house as early as 1918. Curbs and gutters were installed along this portion of Fulton Avenue in 1918.

Lots for this addition were being sold as early as April 1859, by the developer, B.R. Wardlaw.

In 1871, Hannibal newcomer Henry C. Kleine advertised his grocery store, which was located at what was referred to as 303 Broadway “across from the public square.” The address was more likely 403 Broadway, as printed in the 1873 directory. By 1879, he was operating the grocery store on Broadway, as well as a brewery on Fulton Avenue. (Hannibal city directories accessed via the Hannibal Free Public Library’s website.)

The layout for Kleine’s Brewery is included in the 1899 Sanborn map, accessed vis the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection, MU Digital Library. The red represents brick structures; blue represents stone structures; and yellow represents frame structures.

Mary Lou Montgomery, Suburban Newspapers of America Editor of the Year, Dailies, 2010, retired as editor of the Hannibal, Mo., Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on amazon.com by this author include: “The Notorious Madam Shaw,” “Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,” “St. Mary’s Avenue District,” and “Live, on stage in Hannibal 1879: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore.’” Montgomery can be reached at montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com