1822 - 1876

Born in Germany, Joseph Francis Bauman came to Omaha in the early 1860s. Like many others, he may have been escaping the wars that plagued Central Europe at that time. In 1863, with his partner John Green, he purchased a brewery from a Mr. McCombe that occupied nearly all the block from 6th to 7th and Leavenworth Streets. Brewing beer to serve the thirsty settlers was big business in the frontier town. In 1864, he sold the company to Metz & Brothers, who later moved their operation to 3rd and Hickory Streets.

In 1865 Joseph Bauman built a plant at Sherman Avenue (North 16th Street) and Yates Street, naming it the Columbia Brewery. In 1876, Bauman brought Gottlieb Storz from Germany to be his foreman. En route to the Omaha railroad station to meet Mr. Storz, he was involved in a carriage accident at 14th and Farnam Streets. He never recovered from his injuries, and was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery on December 18, 1876. He was only 54 years old.

Bauman's wife, Wilhelmina (also from Germany), continued to operate the business until 1884, when she sold it to Gottlieb Storz and his partner, Joseph D. Iler, a prominent distiller who also imported wines, liquors and cigars. Together, Storz and Iler expanded the business, adding new machinery and enlarging the building as sales increased. In May of 1891, Iler sold out and Storz changed the company name to Omaha Brewing Association.

In 1898, to meet expanding demand, Storz moved the brewery a few blocks to the south, building between Clark and Grace Streets on a tract of ground that connected with railroad tracks on the east. The plant (right) cost roughly $500,000, and was designed to produce 150,000 barrels per year. This move coincided with the Trans-Mississippi Exposition taking place north of his new plant. (The gazebo from the Storz Beer Garden there was relocated to 37th and Farnam Streets next to the large home Storz had built.)

In 1902, the firm's name was changed to the Storz Brewing Company. It continued in business until 1972, 70 years later.

Mr. Bauman belongs to the great company of German-born brewers in Omaha that includes Frederick Krug, the Metz Brothers, Gottlieb Storz, and many others.

Historic marker dedicated on September 24, 2005

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