PROSPERITY, WAR, AND COLLAPSE Linda Sones, The Story of the McHenry Distillery and the Fishing Creek Confederacy
Shortly after our country gained its independence, a small group of settlers moved into northern Columbia County. Daniel and Mary McHenry were a few of them, and on September 13, 1785, their son, John, was the first white child born north of Knob Mountain in the Fishing Creek Valley. John grew up a farmer and hunter and was referred to as “Hunter John”. John married Helena Cutter, and in 1812, he started the McHenry Distillery, making Rye Whiskey. John and Helena had nine children. The youngest was Rohr, born in 1829. Rohr was named after a Prussian, Frederick Rohr, who fought against Napoleon and later moved into northern Columbia County. He established the village of Rohrsburg. When John passed away in 1868, Rohr took over the distillery. The McHenry home became known as the “Still House”. As the business grew, more buildings were added to the residence, and the whiskey being made was known as “Old Rohr”. The whiskey was said to cure anything! The distillery supported local farmers as the demand for rye grew, and the farmers were happy to assist. Rohr married Caroline Geiser, and they had five children: George, Henrietta, Louisa, Charles, and John Geiser (referred to as John G.) During Rohr's reign over the distillery, they produced 100 gallons of whiskey a day.
Once John G. completed his education, he plunged into becoming a businessman, working as a farmer, banker, distiller,
and politician. And as the distillery became more productive, John G. began working for his father. John G. decided their slogan should be “Born 1812”, and it stuck. Now, before we continue with our story on the McHenry Distillery, we need to talk about the Fishing Creek Confederacy. During the Civil War, 1861-1865, the citizens fully supported the North and their mission. But as the war drug on, locals thought otherwise. Families were losing their men, and there was no one to run their farms. The Fishing Creek Confederacy was reported to be a group of draft dodgers in northern Columbia County who took to North Mountain to avoid the troops looking for them.
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