Curious SouthCoast: New Bedford's first brewery survives Prohibition: It's all about ice

Kathryn Gallerani, The Standard-Times
·2 min read

Long before the Cisco Brewers Kitchen and Bar and its brewery opened at 1482 East Rodney French Blvd. in June 2021, the first brewery in New Bedford opened on Brook Street in the North End.

Dawson's Brewery was founded in 1899 by Benjamin Dawson, a wholesaler originally from England who started out as a worker in a cotton mill.

After leaving England, he worked as a weaver in a cotton mill in Rhode Island, according to the state’s Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System database.

Dawson continued working as a weaver in the Wamsutta Mills after moving to New Bedford in 1864. Five years later, he opened a retail grocery store, and 15 years later, he established a wholesale liquor business at the corner of Purchase and Howard Streets.

Dawson's Brewery was founded in 1889 in New Bedford's North End.
Dawson's Brewery was founded in 1889 in New Bedford's North End.

The first brew house was established on Holly Street.

Unfortunately for Dawson, Prohibition put a dent in his business, but it didn't put an end to it. During Prohibition, the company produced ice instead of ale, so half of his employees were able to continue working for him.

Brewmaster Theodore A. Schueler and his assistant, Herman Anderson, observes and discuss a sample of beer as Thomas McFadden, plant chemist, makes a routine test on the finished product. (Credit: Standard-Times via Spinner Publications)
Brewmaster Theodore A. Schueler and his assistant, Herman Anderson, observes and discuss a sample of beer as Thomas McFadden, plant chemist, makes a routine test on the finished product. (Credit: Standard-Times via Spinner Publications)

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Dawson dies in 1920

The brewery began its first shipments after Prohibition in 1933, after the company was acquired by Bennett Rockman Company of Boston, following Dawson's death in 1920.

The brewery flourished, and many additions and alterations were built during the late 1930s into the 1940s. The brewery was also noted for outstanding contributions to the betterment of the community.

A typical storage tank in the background with Mathew Buraczenski operating the carbonation equipment ensures a good creamy head of foam on every glass. (Credit: Standard-Times via Spinner Publications)
A typical storage tank in the background with Mathew Buraczenski operating the carbonation equipment ensures a good creamy head of foam on every glass. (Credit: Standard-Times via Spinner Publications)
A typical storage tank in the background with Mathew Buraczenski operating the carbonation equipment ensures a good creamy head of foam on every glass. (Credit: Standard-Times via Spinner Publications)
A typical storage tank in the background with Mathew Buraczenski operating the carbonation equipment ensures a good creamy head of foam on every glass. (Credit: Standard-Times via Spinner Publications)

In 1964, Rockman died, and three years later the company was sold to Jacob Ruppert Inc., a division of Rheingold, the name of a beer that might remind readers of an episode of The Golden Girls.

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Another door opens

The plant closed for a while before reopening to brew Gablinger's Beer, one of the first reduced calorie beers marketed in the U.S., under the name of the Forrest Brewing Company. In October 1970, the brewery was sold to C. Schmidt & Sons Inc., of Philadelphia. It closed in 1987.

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Local sources cited in the MACRIS database include the Standard-Times library, New Bedford Public Library and City of New Bedford building, assessor’s offices and planning annex.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford's first brewery was founded by native of England