Brewery Farm
The “Brewery Farm” was a farm along what is now known as Herman Road that was owned by Henry Schaeffer of the Arnhold and Henry Schaeffer Brewing Company. Schaeffer purchased the 144-acre farm in 1891 and while he did reside here it is not known if brewing was done here.
Arnhold and Schaeffer was one of several brewers that defined the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia. According to oldbreweries.com they were in business only from 1884-87 but the Philadelphia Inquirer (Aug 27, 1927, p.3) mentions the company having 15 vats of beer returned to them during prohibition. Help Wanted ads of the time (Phila Inquirer October 8, 1922, p. 53) refer to the farm as “Brewery Farm” with I Coben as the proprietor. Schaeffer and his partner Arnholdt also had homes at 30th and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia near their brewery.141
The farm had earlier notoriety dating to a slave kidnapping in 1822.
The Brewery Farm in 1822 was owned by Issacher Kenderdine and was located adjacent to the farm of his late brother, Joseph. On the evening of October 20, 1822, several “Jerseymen” appeared at Joseph’s house on the pretense of needing help with their broken wagon Joseph’s wife, widowed but a month, offered the help of the black man living there ; whereupon he was promptly seized by his owners. Hannah’s son, John, ran to his uncle Issaachar’s house for help. By the time those involved reached Marple’s tavern (later known as the Crooked Billet Inn), a stone throwing, gun wielding mob was gathered.
When the case was finally settled in US Circuit Court in 1833, Isachaar was fined $4,000 for violating the law of 1793 prohibiting the harboring of slaves. To fully appreciate the stiffness of this penalty – Isaachar sold the house and its 103 acres to Henry Hermann just 5 years later for $9,600.140
Henry Hermann – who Herman Road is named after – purchased the farm from Issacher Kenderdine in 1827 and on the deed is listed as a NY butcher but little else is known of him. We do not know if there were any other owners between 1827 and 1891.