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CLARKE BROS. CO.
Peoria, IL.
1870-1919
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Charles S. Clarke established a distillery in 1862, later being joined by his brother, Sumner Clarke. The distillery was located on Grove at the foot of Persimmon and made diverse spirits and alcohol until 1888 when all but the "Clarke's Pure Rye" brand was eliminated.

By 1899 "Clarke Bros." consisted of Charles C Clarke and Chauncy D Clarke.

In 1899 a larger plant for was incorporated as Clarke Brothers & Company Inc. and continued until prohibition. The company had outlets in many US cities, including Chicago, Kansas City, San Francisco and St Louis.

The distillery was eventually acquired by US Industrial Alcohol and the brand name became a popular product of Arrow Distilleries Inc., founded in 1933. It closed around 1943, but one should note that many of the surviving "Clarke's Pure Rye" advertising items could date to this time.

Clarke Bros. were a founding and guiding member of the Whiskey Trust.

There were two additional listings for Clarke in Peoria.

Read more about this company in the following article:
Charles Clarke and "Secrets" of the Whiskey Trust, by Jack Sullivan

The company used the brand names:
"Castle Rock", "Checker Board", "Clarke's Juniper Gin", "Clarke's Rye", "Clarke's Rye Malt Gin", "Clarke's Special Rye", "Elkhorn Gin", "Kickapoo Bourbon", "Old Guild Gin", "Pearl Spirits", and "R. D. C. Bourbon."

Business name timeline:
Clarke, Bush & Co. (1870-1875), C S Clarke & Co. (1877-1882), Clarke Bros. (1883-1899), Clarke Bros. & Co. (1900-1917), Clarke's Rectifying Co. (1918), Clarke Bros. & Co. (1919)

Address timeline:
no information (1870-1879), Grove, foot of Persimmon (1880-1899), Foot Pecan (1900-1902), S Peoria (1903-1908), Foot of Pecan & S Peoria (1909-1918), 12th Floor Lehmann Bldg. (1919)

Business category timeline (abbreviations decoded below):
D


Years that company appeared in directories
Years directories were consulted
Peoria directory notes



The images below are thumbnails linked to listing pages containing larger, more detailed images and links to related material.
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BUY ME!

BUY ME!

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BUY ME!

1898

1899

1901

1908

1908

c. 1898

Appearance in directories:
1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1875, 1877, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919

Directories consulted:
1844, 1856, 1857, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1863, 1865, 1867, 1868, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1875, 1877, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919

Peoria directory notes:
D = Distilleries, L = Liquor Merchants (1856), W = Liquors, Wholesale, S = Saloons (1881). In the early years (ca 1863-1867) , addresses were often omitted (indicated by "nd"). There was a street renumbering, perhaps city-wide but evident in Washington addresses, in 1872/1873, with both old and new numbers indicated in the 1873 directories. The 1881 directory shows that Water St. has been renumbered. Directires are missing Liquor wholesalers for 1901, no distillers for 1904 or 1905. Several years are missing copies. There are no liquor-related entries for 1920. My directory copies include partial listings for Saloons for 1881-1886: they were not included here.

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