HORNE LECTURE TONIGHT AT MILLER INN

For Slaves, Road to Freedom Ran Through Farm of
E.D. Holton
Site is Now Home to Miller Brewery

It is my honor and pleasure to open the 2009 lecture series of the Museum of Beer and Brewing tonight at The Miller Inn, 3931 W. State St., with a speech about abolitionist pioneer E. D. Holton.
Holton's 65-acre farm, Highland Home, purchased in 1840, lay immediately to the north of what is now The Miller Inn and was then Miller's Brewery..
Frederick Miller bought the farm in sections during the 1870s and 1880s for his expanding business.

A century and a half ago as the nation slid toward Civil War new immigrants like Miller were forced into a political situation alien from their experience, while abolitionists like Holton and other founders of the Republican Party were forced to change their views on the issue of temperance in an effort to win these new voters.
I will discuss this using source documents, and Holton's own, eloquent words. I will also have copies of the mortgages and deeds between Holton and Miller.
The talk begins at 6 p.m. [See Press Release below.]
--Michael Horne

Spring Lecture with Michael Horne

Join the Museum of Beer & Brewing on March 31st for our first lecture of 2009. Author Michael Horne will speak about the “The Underground Railroad and Miller Valley: E.D. Holton’s Farm as a Way Station for Freedom in Pre-Civil War Milwaukee”. Mr. Horne will discuss the abolitionist as well as the Temperance movements in Milwaukee in the 1850s.

Most of us think of one thing when we think of Miller Valley, Miller Beer! But in 1850 the breweries were small and most of the area was farmland. A large part of the Valley was owned by E.D. Holton, an Abolitionist and a member of the Temperance movement.

The road out of Milwaukee in 1850 ran through the Miller Valley and this road was a part of the Underground Railroad. There was brewing going on during Underground Railroad times, and Mr. Horne will talk about the role of the breweries in this movement. In addition, he will discuss the origins of Miller as well as the other breweries in the Valley.

Michael Horne has written articles on politics, brewing history, and business, for various publications in Milwaukee during the past twenty years. He operates the MilwaukeeWorld.com website, and is the Market Development Manager for Buffalo Water Brewing Co. in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

The event will take place at the:
The Miller Inn
3931 W. State St., Milwaukee
Time: 6pm.

Miller/Coors brand refreshments and light appetizers will be provided. Cost is $10 for members, $15 for non-members - or join the museum for $20 with our join-and-go program and attend for free!