How Congress Beer saved the Norridgewock Hotel

While window-shopping through the beer display at my local grocery store in Syracuse I happened to notice they are selling Congress Beer. I vaguely remembered that back in 2018 the Onondaga Historical Association partnered with a local craft brewer, Willow Rock Brewing Company, to resurrect a beer that was once extremely popular in Syracuse and throughout upstate. I also remembered that the popularity of Congress Beer among Adirondack sportsmen and lumberjacks was a factor in the creation of the second Norridgewock Hotel. Here’s that formerly untold story.

As I explained in my post of 6/8/2021, the original Norridgewock Hotel burned to the ground on May 8, 1914. At the time, the hotel and most of the surrounding private property at Beaver River Station was owned by Bert B. Bullock. Bullock did not want to rebuild the hotel since his family planned to relocate to a more cosmopolitan setting. The concrete block stable just across the road from the original hotel was undamaged by the fire. A few years earlier Bullock had converted part of the stable into a saloon. In August of 1914, Bullock leased that saloon to a Tupper Lake merchant named Peter Propp. When Bullock sold off his real estate holdings at Beaver River, Propp purchased a large parcel that included the stable / saloon, the original hotel site and a section of the surrounding undeveloped property [see my post of 6/2/2022].

By 1914, the year the original Norridgewock burned down, Congress Beer had established a strong following in the Adirondacks. Propp was able to afford to make a substantial investment at Beaver River due in part to his role as the north country distributor of Congress Beer. Congress Beer, a light-colored German-style lager, dates back to about 1885. It was created by the Haberle Brewery. Benedict Haberle, a German immigrant, had founded a brewery on Syracuse's North Side in 1857. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was the largest of the dozen or so breweries operating in the city. Haberle Brewery survived longer than any of the others. Congress Beer was so popular that when Haberle resumed beer production in 1933 after Prohibition ended, it renamed the company Haberle-Congress. The Haberle-Congress Brewing Company Inc. renovated and modernized its brewing assets, and quickly regained its position as Syracuse’s premier brewer. Eventually unable to compete with popular national brands, Haberle-Congress closed in 1962. In June 1964, the brewery buildings were demolished to make way for a shopping plaza.

 

Peter Propp, originally from Kowno, Lithuania, relocated to Tupper Lake shortly after 1900 drawn by reports of the good business climate from earlier eastern European peddlers of household goods. One of his first businesses was a wholesale bottling works located near the railroad at Tupper Lake Junction, an area also known as Faust. Propp bottled an array of non-alcoholic sodas as well as several beers, the most popular of which was Congress. Business was good during that time since Tupper Lake had dozens of hotels and bars frequented by the large force of lumbermen who worked the woods in that region. There can be no doubt that Bullock’s Norridgewock Hotel, only a short train ride from Tupper Lake, was one of his regular customers. As can be seen in this 1912 advertisement, Propp claimed his beverages were on sale at “all hotels.”

Much of Propp’s success was due to his sustained and creative marketing efforts. The local newspaper, TheTupper Lake Herald, carried frequent advertisements for Propp’s business. One feature of his publicity campaign was the placement of small ads at the bottom of a column of news where they appeared on first glance to be another news item. For example, the ad below from July 17, 1914 reads: “The pleasure of a fishing trip is increased a hundred fold by taking along a few cases of CONGRESS Beer. Take CONGRESS Beer with you on that outing. It will add to your enjoyment. 

Two side-by-side ads from Jan. 15, 1915 read: “CONGRESS Beer is a friend. Because the materials that enter into the manufacture of CONGRESS Beer are absolutely pure. Order a supply today from Peter Propp.” “The foremost temperance workers agree that the use of a mild stimulant like CONGRESS Beer does not create an appetite for strong drink and is actually healthy.”

Propp’s business prospered. He became a well-known and well-liked community leader. He and his wife Anna Rokoff were strong supporters of the local Jewish community and were instrumental in the building of the historic Beth Joseph Synagogue, which still stands in the upper village. By 1914 – 15 Peter Propp was quite well-off and looking for new investment opportunities. Bert Bull ock must have communicated his desire to divest himself of his Beaver River properties to Propp. There is no telling whether there would ever have been a second Norridgewock Hotel had Propp not stepped in at exactly the right moment.

Propp should be remembered at Beaver River Station for the two decisions he made that forever altered the nature of the settlement. First, he provided the funds to expand and convert the former hotel stable and saloon into a functioning, first-rate sportsman’s hotel. That structure has provided lodging for over one hundred years and is still in use today. Second, he had most of the undeveloped real estate that he purchased from Bullock surveyed and divided into cottage lots for sale to the vacationers he expected to flock to the area. Here is a copy of the subdivision plan Propp filed with Herkimer County in 1917.

 

Propp’s cottage development plan never came to pass, at least not as he envisioned it. About 1920 he sold the second Norridgewock Hotel and his real estate at Beaver River Station to the Thompson brothers, Walter and Clinton. The future of those properties will be explored in future posts. Needless to say, none of this would have transpired without CONGRESS Beer.

I must confess that doing this research has made me thirsty. I'm going to get myself a can of Congress Beer from the fridge, pop the top and settle down for a while on my back porch. It is indeed a good beer. 

 

Thanks to Tim Becker who provided me with a copy of the 1917 Propp subdivision map