War of 1812 era soldier, slaveholder, and pioneer Kentucky distiller, Caleb Terrell, shown here as he appeared on a whiskey label, in 1835 began a family dynasty making whiskey in Paducah that stretches down to the present day — an astounding 188 years.
Born in Virginia in 1791, the son of Jonathan and Mary Terrell, Caleb first appears in public records in 1808, as an 18th-year-old private in Battalion One of the 19th Virginia Regiment, stationed in Richmond. Accounted as a War of 1812 Era veteran, Caleb actually saw no fighting and his unit was disbanded in 1809
by official orders of the U.S. President and Virginia governor that “it was “no longer required to be held in readiness for actual service.” Caleb was discharged and apparently did no further soldering.
He next appeared in the 1830 United States Slave Census recorded living on a farm in Montgomery, Tennessee. Still single at 39, Caleb owned seven slaves, three males and four females. By 1840, Caleb had moved to a new site in Ballard County, Kentucky, near Paducah. Still single, he was recorded now owning twelve slaves, five males and seven females. It was there in 1835 that Caleb began his distillery as an adjunct to farming, accounted among the earliest distilleries in Western Kentucky. It was a common practice to use slaves in making whiskey below the Mason-Dixon Line and they played an important role in early American distilling, as illustrated below.
The 1850 Slave Census indicated the growth of Caleb’s distilling enterprise over the decade. Now he had a total of 15 slaves, of whom six were children, ages three to thirteen. He died in May 1861, accounted 69-70 years old and was buried in Ballard County’s Jenkins Cemetery, a burying ground located on a farm 2 and 1/2 miles east of LaCenter, Kentucky, the county seat. With Caleb’s death his distillery was shut down.
Meanwhile, back in Paducah, Caleb’s nephew Thomas was prospering as a pork packer, general trader and commission merchant for tobacco. He and wife, Mary Francis, would have a family of eight sons. Among them was Albert Sidney “Sid” Terrell, born in 1862, a grandnephew of Caleb’s. As he grew to maturity, learning about the earlier Terrell distillery, Sid vowed to resurrect what Caleb had begun.
Of Sid’s early life, details are lacking. Kentucky whiskey guru Michael Veatch has this to say about him: “Sid was something of a legend in western Kentucky, during a time when notoriety was often earned through mischief, storytelling, and a bit of hellraising. The Wild West was taking shape, and Sid Terrell certainly embodied that spirit in the western-most part of Kentucky.
My supposition is that Sid had spent sometime learning the whiskey making trade working at one of the many distillers dotting the Kentucky landscape. When in 1903 he resurrected what Caleb had begun, Sid was about 41 years old, married, and had at least one child. Almost immediately he faced one major problem. Unlike Louisville, Lexington, Bardstown and other Kentucky distilling centers at that time, Paducah lacked railroad access for shipping. Everything had to be brought in and out by water over the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers that have their confluence at Paducah. Sid was undaunted and eventually the Illinois Central line was extended there.
As shown above in an early ad, Sid named his flagship sour mash whiskey after his ancestor, calling it “Old Terrell,” and providing a portrait of a stern-looking Caleb and a motto: “Quality not Quantity.” As noted in the Sanborn fire map below, Sid built his distillery about two miles northwest of Paducah’s city hall. Called the Old Terrell Distillery, in Federal parlance it was RD #34, 2nd District. The facility was run only five months of year, yielding four gallons of whiskey per bushel of corn. It featured a bonded warehouse seven tiers high capable of storing 12,000 barrels of aging product.
In an early ad, Sid Terrell came out slugging: “The only sure way to get pure Whiskey is from an actual distiller. The United States government allows no adulteration on the distillery premises. When Whiskey passes to the dealer, then the doctoring commences. The cheaper they sell, the more water and adulteration you get. When you buy from me you get it from first hands and save dealers' profits and adulterations.” He further advised: “Now appreciate it by sending in an order.”
Subsequent Terrell ads emphasized the same themes: “Pure Still House Whiskey. direct from actual distiller to the consumer. Sold at DISTILLER prices—better than WHOLESALE prices, as you save the wholesaler’s profits and have the satisfaction of knowing you are getting pure whiskies direct.” Ignoring the time gap between Caleb’s operation and his, Sid also urged: “Patronize home industry. The first distillery in Paducah.” Subsequently an artist’s label on Old Terrell bottles included an alternate, seemingly more benign portrait of Caleb.
As the years advanced, Sid was able to increase production to mashing 60 bushels of grain a day and annually bottling 1,800 barrels of bourbon. Says Veach: “Sid’s passion for doing things his own way brought great success to the Old Terrell distillery…Old Terrell became well known throughout the South prior to World War I.” After 14 years of notable progress, several factors apparently conspired to end Sid Terrell’s distilling. Among them were wartime restrictions on grain supplies, the increasing pressure of prohibition through “local option” laws, and a damaging fire. In 1917 Sid, now 55, shut down the Old Terrell facility in 1917.
When he died eight years later Sid was buried in Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery where so many Kentucky whiskey greats are interred. His widow, Ella, followed him in 1862. Their joint burial site is shown below.
Notes: This post was assembled from a number of sources, including a brief conversation with Logan Davis. This is the last post of 2023. On to 2024!
No comments:
Post a Comment