“The Oshkosh Brewing Company is now in full operation . . . supplying the market with all the latest brews . . . which for purity and all the points of excellence, cannot be excelled.”
April 2, 1894, Oshkosh Northwestern

Beer made in Oshkosh by the famous Oshkosh Brewing Company was a popular favorite for over 100 years. Many Oshkosh residents still remember the Oshkosh Brewing Company and its trademark logo of the legendary Menominee Indian chief, Oshkosh.

The famous Oshkosh Brewing Company emblem is now on display at the Oshkosh Public Museum. The terracotta emblem, which originally hung over the entrance of the Oshkosh Brewing Company plant, was placed on display at the museum in the summer of 2009. The emblem is secured in a free-standing steel ring, mounted just to the west of the museum entrance along with a descriptive granite plaque and take-home brochure that highlight the history and significance of the emblem.

The brewing company’s history began in 1866 at the Brooklyn Brewery located near 16th and Doty. In April 1894, the Brewery merged with two other firms to form the Oshkosh Brewing Company. By 1900, the brewery was producing 50,000 barrels of beer annually. To meet the growing popularity, the brewing company opened a new plant in May of 1912, and the famous emblem featuring the image of Chief Oshkosh was placed over the main entrance.


Panoramic view of Oshkosh Brewing Company on Doty Street, c. 1915. OPM # P1930.1.43

The brewery was in full swing for more than 50 years in the 1900s. A 1954 survey placed the Oshkosh Brewing Company ninth among all Wisconsin breweries in total sales volume and showed that Chief Oshkosh beer was found in one out of every two homes in the Fox River area. But in 1971, after a ten year decline in production, the Oshkosh Brewing Company was sold to the Peoples Brewing Co. of Oshkosh, which soon after went out of business. The Oshkosh Brewing Company buildings were torn down in the fall of 1986.

The City of Oshkosh purchased the emblem from a private owner for $9,040 in early 1987. To keep the emblem as part of the city’s local history, it was mounted on the outer wall of the Oshkosh Convention Center. When the Convention Center was expanded and remodeled in 2007, the 800 pound emblem was carefully removed from the building, and the Oshkosh Public Museum took formal ownership of it in March 2008, completing its installation in 2009.

Installation of the famous emblem was an unbudgeted expense for the museum. If you would like to make a financial gift towards the preservation of the brewery emblem, donations marked “Brewery Emblem” can be sent to:

Oshkosh Public Museum
1331 Algoma Boulevard
Oshkosh, WI 54901

John Bischofberger's Saloon offering Oshkosh brews, c. 1900. OPM # P1935.10.1


Luhm's Place in Butte des Morts advertising Oshkosh Beer, c. 1915. OPM # P2003.20.1053