Gebhard Brewery Building: A Relic of Morris's Brewing Past

The Gebhard Brewery Building, located at 650 W Washington St in Morris, Illinois, is a historical landmark that tells the story of the town's industrial past. Originally established in 1866 by Louis Gebhard, a German immigrant, the brewery grew from a small, one-and-a-half-story brick building into a substantial brewing complex by the late 1890s. The expanded brewery featured a large brewing room with a copper vat, and grain preparation occurred on the upper floors of the five-story brewing house.Additions to the original structure included a two-and-a-half-story brick and timber building used as a bottling plant. The Gebhard family became prominent landowners in Morris, and William Gebhard, Louis's son, further expanded the family's interests into home and commercial construction.With the advent of Prohibition, the brewery closed, its machinery dismantled and sold. The brewing house was later converted into a flour mill, known as the Morris Milling Company and later as the Brown Mill. The bottling plant saw use as the Lindsey Light and Chemical Company. Today, the buildings remain, with the former brewery occupied by a manufacturing concern. While the bottling plant is abandoned.