Filed Under Virginia City

Gilbert Brewery

Virginia City National Historic Landmark District

Montana Territory’s oldest brewery, founded in 1863, is today a rare example of once-common small town breweries. Though several additions to the 1860s building expanded the booming business, its exterior appearance remains unchanged from the 1880s. Proprietor Henry Gilbert’s home and the century-old willows of his “beer garden” park enhance the landscape. The brewery was closed by Prohibition in 1919 and Gilbert Beer, proclaimed by connoisseurs among the nation’s best, was made no longer. Charles Bovey stabilized the building in 1946 and later remodeled the interior, but original brewing equipment remains in place.

Images

Gilbert Brewery, Virginia City
Gilbert Brewery, Virginia City View of facade on main Brewery building. As of 2019, the building was used as a summer theater. Source: Montana Heritage Commission Creator: Kate Steeley, Montana Heritage Commission Date: Oct 2019
Virginia Brewery/Gilbert Brewery, Virginia City
Virginia Brewery/Gilbert Brewery, Virginia City View looking northeast at brewery workers with main brewery building on the left, malting house center, and bottling plan right (with bottle crates out front). Three of the men are wearing full length aprons and the fourth is holding a carrying case. Man on the right might be Valentine J. Gilbert. Source: PAc 956-120, Montana Legacy Photograph Collection, Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, MT. Creator: Unknown photographer Date: ca. 1910

Location

200 East Cover Street, Virginia City, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Gilbert Brewery,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/869.