Summary Information
Effinger Brewing Company Records
1902-1968
Mss 419; Audio 1319A; PH Mss 419
2.8 cubic feet (6 archives boxes and 1 flat box), 1 tape recording, and 16 pieces of ephemera
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of the Effinger Brewing Company, a family-owned and managed brewery in Baraboo, Wisconsin, which ceased production after losing its regional market to larger corporations. Included are minutes, audit reports, tax returns, correspondence with federal agencies, labels and advertising brochures, brewery blueprints, plans and specifications, and tape recordings.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00419 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Ferdinand Effinger Sr., a German immigrant, founded the family brewing business in Baraboo, Sauk County, Wisconsin in 1885. One of about 300 small breweries in Wisconsin when founded in the late nineteenth century, the Effinger Brewing Company was one of only 19 small breweries in the state in 1966, when the firm ceased brewing due to declining sales.
The original brewery complex, erected in 1885, housed Effinger's family and a saloon in addition to beer-making facilities. Eleven years later, Effinger was one of the earliest brewers in the state to begin producing bottled beer.
In 1911 Effinger reorganized the firm as a corporation owned by family members. In 1913-1914 the brewery was remodeled and expanded, providing space for new cellars, keg washrooms, and a mechanical refrigeration system.
With the advent of Prohibition in 1920, the company began producing root beer and near-beer. In 1921 the firm successfully converted to ice cream making and sales. Ten years later, the firm sold its ice cream business to the Borden Company and began reconverting the plant for beer production, which began in 1933. The firm continued its expansion program through 1948 when a new brewery building was completed and new bottling equipment was installed.
Throughout its 81-year existence, the Effinger Brewing Company remained a family-owned and managed business. The sons and grandsons of the founder served as corporate officers and as managers of the brewery. After the death of the founder in 1945, Ferdinand Effinger Jr., became the firm's president and brewmaster, positions he occupied until the firm went out of business. Frederick J. Effinger, a grandson of the founder, served as secretary-treasurer and director (plant manager) from 1945 to 1966.
For background information on the Wisconsin brewing industry, see William Owen Baldwin, “Historical Geography of the Brewing Industry; Focus on Wisconsin,” (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Illinois, 1967), available in the library of the State Historical Society. This item includes an interview with Frederick J. Effinger. For information on early Wisconsin brewers, emphasizing bottling methods, see Wayne L. Kroll, Badger Breweries, Past and Present, (Jefferson, Wisconsin: by the author, 1967). This work includes brief entries on hundreds of Wisconsin brewers and breweries.
Scope and Content Note
The collection documents the company's activities from its incorporation in 1911 until its closing in 1966, with only a few financial records dated prior to incorporation. Financial records comprise the bulk of the collection and span the years 1902-1966. In addition to information on the brewing industry, the collection provides data on the decline of a family business as it lost its regional market to major corporations.
The HISTORICAL SKETCH was originally published in Wisconsin Teamster in 1960. This item is the only document in the collection referring to the firm's contract with Richland Center Local 870 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers.
The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, consisting of incorporation documents and the minutes of the board of directors and stockholders, are complete for the years 1911-1945. Minutes for the years 1946-1966 are not in the collection.
FINANCIAL RECORDS include auditor's reports, balance sheets, inventories, tax returns, and other records.
The LEGAL RECORDS refer mainly to the firm's relations with federal agencies. Correspondence, second copies of forms returned to the brewer after filing, and other records are arranged chronologically by agency. Correspondence with the Federal Trade Commission, (1965, 1968) includes information on the market competition that led to the closing of the plant.
Also in the collection are MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS, BUILDING PLANS, and ADVERTISING MATERIALS including bottle labels and advertising circulars, and a tape recording of 1957 advertising prepared for broadcast.
Related Material
The Archives also holds the correspondence of Richland Center Local 870 of the Teamsters Union (part of Mss 434), which represented Effinger employees.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Frederick J. Effinger, Baraboo, Wisconsin, September 28, 1977. Accession Number: M77-388
Processed by S. Johnson (archives intern) and Joanne Hohler, June 1, 1978.
Contents List
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Mss 419
Box
1
Folder
1
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Series: Historical Sketch, 1960
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Series: Administrative Records
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Articles of organization and by-laws, 1911
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Box
1
Folder
2 (continued)
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Board of Directors minutes, 1911-1945
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Box
1
Folder
2 (continued)
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Stockholders minutes, 1911-1929
Volume
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Stockholders minutes, 1930-1945
Volume
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Series: Financial Records
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Bookkeeping system outline, 1934
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Auditor's reports, annual
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Box
1
Folder
4-7
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1934-1947
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Box
2
Folder
1-2
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1948-1954
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Box
2
Folder
3
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1962-1965
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Box
2
Folder
4-5
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Balance sheets, quarterly and annual, 1926-1947
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Inventories, plant and real estate, 1902-1931
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Ledger, general, 1949-1961
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Box
3
Folder
2
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Profit and loss statements, 1940, 1952-1961
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Box
3
Folder
3-4
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Tax receipts, property and income, 1909-1929
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Tax returns, income
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Box
3
Folder
5-8
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1926-1935
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Box
4
Folder
1-10
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1936-1955
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Box
5
Folder
1-6
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1956-1965
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Series: Legal Records
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Alcohol and tobacco tax, Assistant Regional Commissioner
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Box
5
Folder
7-9
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Correspondence, notices of brewer's bond, and notices from brewer, 1935-1966
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Box
7
Folder
1
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Plats of brewery premises, filed with notice by brewer, 1960, 1965
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Box
5
Folder
10
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Federal Trade Commission, correspondence on marketing practices of Schlitz Brewing Company and cessation of Effinger brewing operations, 1965, 1968
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Box
5
Folder
11
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Internal Revenue Service, settlement of claims on subsidies paid to retail outlets, 1943-1944
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Box
5
Folder
12
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Mortgages and satisfactions of mortgages, 1909-1935
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Box
5
Folder
13
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National Recovery Administration, Regional Board 12, request for costs of production data, pursuant to Brewer's Code, 1934; reply
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Box
5
Folder
14
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Office of Price Administration, settlement of claims on overcharges for spent grains, 1943-1944
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Box
5
Folder
15
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Officers, directors, and stockholders, disclosures of names, 1951-1958, 1961
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Box
5
Folder
16
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Surety bonds, applications for, 1933-1938
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Box
5
Folder
17
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Trademarks and label spprovals, correspondence and certificates, 1918, 1947, 1954, 1966
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Series: Miscellaneous Records
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Box
5
Folder
18
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Effinger Brewing Company newsletter, 1951-1955
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Inquiries from prospective purchasers
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Box
5
Folder
19
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Of brewery, 1934
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Box
5
Folder
19 (continued)
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Of brewery wagon, 1964
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Box
5
Folder
20
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Oshkosh Brewing Company, correspondence regarding sale of trademark, 1966
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Box
5
Folder
21
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Plant profile, 1962
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Box
6
Folder
1
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Siebel Sons' taste and analytical tests on Effinger beers, 1956-1962
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Series: Building Plans
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Box
6
Folder
2
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Brewery specifications, 1913-1914
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Box
7
Folder
2-3
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Brewery blueprints, 1913
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Series: Advertising
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PH Mss 419
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Bottle labels and advertising brochures
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Audio 1319A
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