William N.H. Maack


Company Names, addresses, dates:
  Henke & Maack, Corner Olive & Green Sts, Georgetown DC (1850-1853) 2,3
  Wm N.H. Maack, Corner Olive & Green Sts, Georgetown DC (1853) 3
  Maack & Arny, Corner Olive & Green Sts, Georgetown DC (1853-1854) 4,5
  William N.H. Maack, Corner 4½ and N Streets SW, Washington DC (1854-1870) 1
  William N.H. Maack, 1304 4½ Street SW, Washington DC (1871-1877)1
  William N.H. Maack, 1300 6th SW (1878-1892) 1

Notes:
William N.H. Maack (1820-1904) was born in Hamburg Germany8. His obituary claims he was the first man to brew Ale in the Washington DC9. He had a long career as a beer brewer, mineral water (aka soda pop) manufacturer, and bottler. He had many business partners through the years, as discussed below.

    Henke & Maack at Olive and Green streets
The earliest venture into the bottling business I can find for Maack is when he teamed up with Louis Henke and took over the mineral water & vinegar factory at Olive and Green streets in Georgetown on August 21st 18502. On Apr 15, 1851, Henke & Maack announced they had renovated their whole mineral water apparatus 10. The announcement also had a request for "3 boys, colored, slaves preferred". It also said they had a large supply of vinegar on hand - my guess is that they stopped manufacturing vinegar at this time, as I've found no mention of vinegar from their company after this.

    Maack & Arny at Olive and Green streets
On January 10th, 1853, Henke & Maack announced they had disolved their partnership, and that Maack would continue the business and pay off all their debts3. I don't know how long Maack was the sole proprietor, but on June 27th of that same year (1853) there is a want ad for a horse from "Maack & Arny" at Olive and Green streets 11, so apparently Maack had quickly teamed up with Charles Arny. On March 1, 1854, Maack & Arny announced their copartnership was mutually disolved, and that the the company would continue as Arny & Shinn12.

    William N.H. Maack at 4 1/2 and N Streets
Maack didn't stay idle for long. On May 1, 1854, he announced that he had commenced manufacturing mineral water, and had purchased the "Worlds Fair premium Soda Water apparatus" for his factory at 4 1/2 and N Streets6. The 1855 city directory lists his address as 426 4 1/2 Street, whereas subsequent city directorys list it at 428 4 1/2 Street. I'm not sure if he had 2 separate buildings during that period, or if the 1855 entry was a mistake. But various newspaper articles refer to the address as the corner of 4½ and N Streets, so I'm confident that is referring to the same location as "428 4½ Street".
On June 30, 1856, John McKeon3 announced that he had sold the machinery, bottles, fixtures, etc belonging to his mineral water factory to William N.H. Maack13. Below that announcement was an announcement by Maack that he was now able to supply the public with the best Porter, Ale, Cider and Mineral Water. This is the earliest document indicating that Maack sold beer, although it does not specify that he actually brewed the beer himself.
The 1858 City directory lists William Bosse at the same address as William Maack, so apparently they were teamed up at that time.
Then there was an announcement on June 13th 1859 that Haugstetter & Koehler had purchased a Mineral Water and Bottling establishment from Mr. Maack and Mr. Bosse , but it did not say what the address of the establishment was14. I wonder if it was at 426 4½ Street, and that Maack moved to 428 4½ Street after that, as Maack contined to be listed at that latter address in city directories until 1865. The article claimed that Haugstetter & Koehler had taken ownership all bottles with the names "Bosse" or "Maack" on them. But there was an announcement made a few days later (June 18th 1859) where Bosse refuted that claim, and made it clear that the Bottles did not convey15, and that he still owned all bottles with his name on them. My guess from all this is that Maack had teamed up with Bosse at some point, but their partnership didn't work out, so they sold their mutual ownings and went their separate ways.
    Beer Brewer
Starting in 1860, Maack is listed as a brewer in city directories, and the address of his establishment was listed as a brewery (as well as his home). He continued to be listed as a brewer until 1877.

    William N.H. Maack at 1304 4½ St SW
This is the modern day address near the intersection of 4½ and N Streets, so I believe that this is the same building referred to as both "Corner of 4½ and N Streets" and "428 4½ Street".

    William N.H. Maack at 1300 6th St SW
In 1878-1892, Maack shows up in city directories at 1300 6th Street SW. He shows up as a bottler or mineral-water manufacturer during these years, not a brewer.


Bottles:
henke_02 book # 292
This is a dark-green 9" torpedo-shaped bottle embossed:
front: HENKE & MAACK
maack_11 book # 381
This is a dark-green 7.2" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: MAACK & ARNY / GEORGETOWN / D.C.
back: THIS BOTTLE IS / NEVER SOLD
base: (iron pontil scar)
maack book # 375
This is an aqua 7.1" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: W.N.H. MAACK / W. C. D. C.
back: THIS BOTTLE IS / NEVER SOLD
The "W.C.D.C." stands for "Washington City District of Columbia"
maack_14 book # 375
This is a variation on the above bottle in that it has a big "W M" on the back. It's an aqua 7" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: W.N.H. MAACK / W. C. D. C.
back: W M / THIS BOTTLE / NEVER SOLD
maack_4 book # (unlisted)
This is a variation on the 2 bottles above, in that it has "& Co" after "W.N.H.MAACK", and the "W.C.D.C." is split on 2 lines. It's an aqua 7.2" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: W.N.H. MAACK & Co / W. C. / D. C.
back: THIS BOTTLE / NEVER SOLD
maack_09 book # 376
Aqua 7.1" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: W.N.H. MAACK / W. C. D. C.
back: THIS BOTTLE IS / NEVER SOLD
base: (iron pontil scar)
maack_10 book # 378
This is a badly damaged bottle, but when it was whole it was a 7" green squat blob top bottle embossed:
front: Wm MAACK / WASHINGTON / D.C.
rear (in a rectangular slug plate): THIS BOTTLE / IS NEVER SOLD
base: (iron pontil scar)
maack_15 book # 378
This bottle is similar to the one above except for the embossing on the back. It's a 7" green squat blob top bottle embossed:
front: Wm MAACK / WASHINGTON / D.C.
rear: (blank rectangular slug plate)
base: (iron pontil scar)
The lip on this bottle has been repaired/replaced
(also, the embossing has been painted)
maack_2 book # 379
This is an aqua 7.4" squat blob top bottle embossed:
front: Wm N.H. MAACK / WASHINGTON / D.C.
back: THIS BOTTLE / IS / NEVER SOLD
maack_3 book # 379
This is an aqua 6.5" squat blob top bottle embossed:
front: Wm N.H. MAACK / WASHINGTON / D.C.
back: M / THIS BOTTLE IS / NEVER SOLD
maack_05 book # 380
This is an aqua 7.2" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: Wm N.H. MAACK & Co / WASHINGTON / D. C.
back: THIS BOTTLE / IS / NEVER SOLD
maack_07 book # 380
This is a green 7" short blob top bottle embossed:
front: Wm N.H. MAACK & Co / WASHINGTON / D. C.
back: THIS BOTTLE / IS / NEVER SOLD
maack_12 maack_13 book # (unlisted)
This is a tan 7.3" stoneware blob top bottle (front & back shown). It is imprinted:
front shoulder: W N H MAACK
back shoulder: W C D C


1 Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia (various years)
2 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Sep 3, 1850 p.3
3 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Jan 14, 1853 p.1
4 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Jun 28, 1853 p.1
5 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Mar 4, 1854 p.2
6 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, May 19, 1854 p.3
7 American Breweries III by Dale P. Van Wieren
8 Find-a-grave entry for William N.H. Maack
9 Washington Star Nov 15, 1904; obituary for Wm N H Maack
10 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Apr 19, 1851 p.1
11 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Jun 28, 1853 p.1
12 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Mar 4, 1854 p.2
13 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Jun 30, 1856 p.2
14 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Jun 13, 1859 p.2
15 National Intelligencer Newspaper article, Jun 18, 1859 p.3


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This page last updated on February 13, 2021.