Ninety-six years ago today... Jan 16, 1919 Prohibition takes effect By the turn of the century, Hermann was producing over 3 million gallons of wine annually. Steamboats bearing cargo and visitors arrived regularly from St. Louis. A train line was built from Hermann to the state’s capital, Jefferson City. But hard times were just around the corner. First, Prohibition decimated the wine industry. And then anti-German sentiment arose with the coming of WWI. A state edict forbade the use of the German language. In 1920, Hermann sank into an economic depression that would last until WWII. Nearly 50 years after prohibition, Hermann started to produce wine again. Today there are 7 wineries, producing a third of the state’s total production. Wineries are the main tourist attraction for Hermann, just as it was before prohibition. Because Hermann’s citizens could not afford to modernize their buildings during the depression, Hermann today contains many lovely 1800s buildings, more than 150 of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 21:22:32 +0000
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