“It is safe to say that no man was more generally beloved in Davenport than Mr. Hill.” From the Davenport, Iowa, Democrat & Times, February 13, 1924.
Captured during the Civil War and on the brink of death in a notorious Confederate prison, John Hill, a German immigrant, survived to become a major figure in the liquor trade and community life of Davenport, Iowa. Shown here, Hill secured his place in Iowa history by his role in litigation that brought down the state’s prohibition law, known by the “wets” as the “Davenport Case” and by “drys” as “The Case from Hell.”
John was born in Frankfort, Germany in April 1840 to Margaret Ditzenberger and Conrad Hill, a government official. After receiving a quality elementary and secondary education, Hill left Germany at age 16 for America about 1856, settling in Davenport, a city with a sizable German population. There he learned the cabinet maker’s trade, before moving to Muscatine, Iowa, until 1861 and the coming of the Civil War.
The Civil War and Prison
The Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of Rebellion records that Hill enlisted in Company C of the Iowa 35th Infantry Regiment in September 1862. He would rise to the rank of sergeant over the next few months when the 35th saw considerable hot combat as the Union army thrust deep into Mississippi and Louisiana. At some undisclosed point in this campaign Sgt. Hill was captured. He was sent to the Confederate’s notorious Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, known for its overcrowding, lack of sanitation and heavy mortality.
This is how Libby Prison has been described: “Prisoners were huddled there like cattle, being so crowded that they could not lie down even to sleep. There was no heat of any kind and with the chilly dampness and other discomforts, not to mention the lack of food and water…made it a veritable hell-hole….” Upon arrival, Hill joined in digging an escape tunnel using bare hands and bits of boards. When the day of escape came, however, he was too sick and feeble to crawl out and was forced to remain behind. Hill survived Libby Prison, likely released in a prisoner exchange, and returned to the 35th Iowa. He mustered out in Davenport in June 1865. This time he stayed in the city, shown here about 1865.
Post War Activities
Honored for his war service by the Germanic population, Hill was made manager of Davenport’s central Turner Hall, shown here. He proved to be a success as a proprietor. One account says: “In the good days, sport, old timers from over the Rhine would gather at the old Turner hall in the afternoon to greet young John Hill with a genial Goondacht!…”
Hill also was having a personal life. In April 1867, John was married to Maria S. Kaehler, four years younger than he. Like her husband, Maria had been born in Germany and immigrated with her parents. The Hills would have five children, of whom three survived to adulthood.
Perhaps it was the impetus of his growing family that persuaded John to leave Turner Hall in 1876 to join local businessman Henning J. Witt in organizing a mineral water factory at 718 W. Second St. Expanding over time the company added the manufacture of soda water and bottled beer, ale, porter and cider. Shown below is a blob top bottle and an enlarged label advertising “Hill & Witt.”
By 1879 Hill had left the partnership and returned to managing the Turner Hall. Again his tenure made him many friends, but after some eight years on the job, he once again grew restless. His extensive experience with food and liquor led to a logical conclusion and he opened Hill’s Bar and Cafe on Davenport’s Main Street.
As Saloonkeeper
The Davenport Democrat & Leader described this “watering hole”: “The Hill establishment, by reason of the cordiality and good fellowship of the proprietor, and the excellent service which always characterized its management became one of the most famous stands of its kind in the Middle West.” The newspaper described the saloon as one that strangers to town would seek out because of its reputation.
The proprietor made sure that he also was drawing in locals by maintaining memberships in fraternal organizations, including the Masons, Knights of Pythias, Elks and Turner Society. As a Civil War veteran. Hill was particularly active in the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) He was a regular at the organization’s national conventions and extended special courtesies to its members, including gifting them with commemorative shot glasses.
At the same time, however, he could see the inroads being made by prohibitionary forces in Iowa. In 1880 the State Legislature passed a resolution amending the Iowa Constitution to prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. It was followed in 1882 by a statewide referendum in which voters concurred. That year the “drys” met in convention in Des Moines. There they addressed the saloonkeepers and liquor dealer of Iowa “urging them to discontinue a business that had been outlawed by a vote of the people and the laws and Constitution of the State.” John Hill’s response: “Not so fast!”
“The Case from Hell”
Hill and Henry Koehler, shown here, had hatched a plan. Along with R. Lange, a partner with Koehler in a Davenport brewery, they thought knew a way to bring down the new prohibitionary laws. The brewers brought a suit against Hill to recover $100 for a quantity of beer they had sold him and for which he allegedly had never paid. Hill facetiously argued in his defense that he could not be lawfully compelled to pay for beer sold in violation of the state constitution.
Koehler and Lange then argued that the amendment had not been passed and ratified in the manner stipulated by the Iowa Constitution. No friend of prohibition, Judge Walter I. Hayes of the County District Court, ruled in favor of Koehler and Lange, rejected a faux appeal from Hill, and in January 1882 ruled the amendment invalid.
A shock wave went through the Hawkeye State. From a case that initially had drawn little attention, now Hill and the brewers were figures of discussion statewide. Liquor interests hailed them for what came to be known as the “Davenport Case.” Alarm bells ringing loudly, prohibitionist reviled their effort as “The Case from Hell.” All parties headed to the Iowa Supreme Court.
As one history of Iowa put it: “The friends of prohibition were now thoroughly aroused to the danger….” They brought in as their advocate a distinguished former judge. The governor, a “dry,” dispatched the Iowa attorney general to appear for the state. Now funded by the liquor trade statewide, the other side also mounted a formidable legal team.
After hearing extensive arguments in January 1883, the Iowa Supreme Court with only a single dissent affirmed the decision of Judge Hayes: the amendment was invalid. While prohibitionists were left to excoriate the majority judges, Iowa’s liquor dealers and saloons had been granted a reprieve. Although the legislature subsequently passed another prohibitionary law, it was simply allowed local option, not a statewide mandate. Davenport being safely “wet,” its whiskey men enjoyed another 31 years in business. Only in 1914 did Iowa’s “drys” at last succeeded in a complete state ban on alcohol.
The Later Years
Following his triumph in the Davenport Case, Hill continued operating his high quality saloon and restaurant until about 1900. Shown here in his elder years, he retired from business, celebrated with Maria their golden wedding anniversary, enjoyed their five grandchildren and was a well-recognized figure around Davenport.
Eventually Hill became afflicted by heart problems and may have shown some signs of dementia. As his condition worsened in January 1924, he had been confined to bed for only a short time when he died on February 12, 1924. He was 83. Hill’s funeral in his home and burial in Davenport’s Fairmont Cemetery were private with only his widow, family, and a few invited guest attending. His gravestone is shown below.
No final word about this whiskey man could be more eloquent than an excerpt from his obituary in the Davenport Democrat & Leader: “Mr. Hill was a true gentleman in every sense of the word….He possessed a largeness of mind, generosity, and sympathy which endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. It is safe to say that no man was more generally beloved in Davenport than Mr. Hill.”
Note: This post is drawn from a variety of sources, two of which stand out: John Hill’s February 13th obituary on the front page of the Davenport Democrat & Leader and documents from “Koehler & Lange vs. Hill.”
No comments:
Post a Comment