Adam Lemp and the Western Brewery The patriarch of the Lemp family was Johann "Adam" Lemp, born in 1798 in
Grüningen (Pohlheim),
Germany. He became a
naturalized citizen in November 1841. He arrived in the
United States in 1836, eventually settling in St. Louis in 1838. In the St. Louis city directory of 1840–41, he is listed as a
grocer. Adam Lemp started a grocery store at Sixth and Morgan, called A. Lemp & Co., family grocery. This site is now occupied by the middle of the south side of
The Dome at America's Center. In addition to typical groceries, Lemp sold his own vinegar and
beer. By 1840 he focused solely on the manufacture and sale of beer, forming Western Brewery at 37 South Second Street (about where the south leg of the
Arch now stands). Adam Lemp’s beer became very popular due to the increase of German population in the area. Lemp was one of the first in the country to produce
German lager, which was a great difference from the
English ale and
porters. The business prospered, and when a large storage space became necessary, a
cave in south St. Louis was used for this purpose as it provided natural refrigeration. The cave was below the eventual locations of the Lemp and Chatillon-DeMenil House and the Lemp Brewery on
Cherokee Street. By the 1860s there were 40 breweries in the St. Louis area taking advantage of the caves along the
Mississippi, with the Western Brewery emerging as one of the most successful.
William J. Lemp Sr. Adam's son William J. Lemp was born in Germany in 1835. After completing his education at
Saint Louis University, he worked at the Western Brewery until he left the company to form a partnership with another brewer. In 1861, he enlisted in the
United States Army, and achieved the rank of Orderly Sergeant. On December 3, 1861, he married Julia Feickert. Their daughter
Annie Lemp Konta became a writer. On August 23, 1862, Adam Lemp died, and William returned to the Western Brewery as owner and operator. In 1864 he began building a larger
brewery above the caves where Western had been storing its goods. Under William Lemp, the Western Brewery became the largest brewery in St. Louis, and then, the largest outside of New York with a single owner. William began to brew and bottle the beer in the same facility to meet growing demand, a practice that was rare at that time. Further demonstrating his innovation and business sense, in 1878 he installed the first refrigeration machine in an American brewery, and then extended the idea to refrigerated railway cars, in a successful attempt to be the first
beer in the United States with a national reach. Soon, Lemp Beer was sold worldwide. On the morning of February 13, 1904, William Lemp died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 10:15 a.m.
William J. Lemp, Jr. On November 7, 1904, William J. "Billy" Lemp, Jr., took over the brewing company as president. Billy had married Lillian Handlan five years earlier, and they moved to a new home at 3343 South 13th Street. Lillian Handlan Lemp was, allegedly, nicknamed the “Lavender Lady” for her lavender-colored wardrobe and carriages. She filed for divorce in 1908, charging Billy with desertion, cruel treatment and other indignities. Their divorce proceedings lasted 11 days and ended in Lillian being granted her divorce and custody of William III - their only child - with Billy given only
visitation rights. After the trial, Billy built "Alswel" - his country home overlooking the
Meramec River near what later became
Sunset Hills, Missouri. By 1914, he lived at Alswel full-time. The Lemp Brewery suffered in the early 1920s when
Prohibition began. The brewery was shut down and the
Falstaff trademark was sold to Lemp's friend, "Papa Joe" Griesedieck. The brewery complex was sold at auction to
International Shoe Company for $588,000.
Elsa Lemp Wright Elsa Lemp Wright, the youngest child of William Sr. married Thomas Wright, president of the More-Jones Brass and Metal Company in 1910. They separated in 1918 and in February, 1919, Elsa filed for divorce. She cited, among other things, damage to her mental and physical health. The divorce was granted after a trial, but Elsa and Thomas soon reconciled and remarried in March 1920. Later that month on March 20, Elsa shot herself while in bed at their house at 13 Hortense Place.
William Lemp III In 1939, William J. Lemp III, the only son of Billy Lemp, licensed the Lemp name to Central Breweries of East St. Louis. Central Breweries renamed itself the William J. Lemp Brewing Company and began a grand marketing campaign resulting in increased sales of the new Lemp Beer. The contract was terminated by Ems Brewing, which bought out Lemp in 1945.
Charles Lemp Charles Lemp, the third son of William Sr., was the final Lemp to live in the mansion, starting in 1929. He had left the brewery in 1917, to go into banking and finance. He had also dabbled in politics, influencing many southside wards. He never married and lived with his dog in the mansion with two servants, a married couple. April 1941, Charles Lemp sent a letter to a south St. Louis funeral home requesting that in case of his death, his remains should be taken by ambulance to the Missouri Crematory. His body should not be bathed, clothed, or changed. His ashes should be put into a wicker box and buried on his farm. There were to be no funeral held or a notice put in the papers. Eight years later, he shot himself in the head, leaving the following
suicide note: "St. Louis Mo/May 10, 1949, In case I am found dead blame it on no one but me. Ch. A. Lemp". In 1970, Edwin died at the age of 90. His final order to his caretaker was to destroy his art collection and family heirlooms. ==In popular culture==