Abraham Bomberger
Abraham Shenk Bomberger (1837-1904)
Abraham Shenk Bomberger was born on November 10, 1837. Abraham was a Pennsylvania Dutchman who grew up on his father’s homestead in Lebanon Township, attended local schools, and worked on his family’s farm. Abraham’s mother, Elizabeth Shenk, married John Bomberger. As such, Abraham was a descendant of the Shenks, who were themselves descendants of some of the first Swiss Mennonite settlers in Pennsylvania.
The Shenk brothers, John and Michael, were in the farming and milling business and began distilling rye whiskey in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, in 1753. Initially, the Shenk brothers had only one still, and the rye whiskey they distilled was primarily consumed by the Shenk family themselves and their neighbors. However, in the late 1700s, and with Rudolph Meyer (son-in-law of Michael) as the proprietor, the distillery was operating three stills. In 1827, John Kratzer (another Shenk descendant) purchased the distillery.
After John Kratzer’s death, Abraham Bomberger took over the successful distillery. While it is reported that Abraham bought the distillery from the Kratzer family in 1860, the actual deed shows that, in fact, he took ownership in 1872. Nonetheless, beginning in 1860, Abraham, along with his brother Israel, under the trade name A.S. Bomberger & Brother, successfully ran the distillery. Abraham rebuilt and expanded the still house, the warehouse, and the jug house, and significantly increased production. By all accounts, Bomberger’s rye whiskey was considered first class.
In 1866, Abraham married Catherine Horst, and their first son, Horst H. Bomberger, was born in 1872. Their second son, Samuel, was born in 1879. When his sons were of age, Abraham began teaching the distilling business to them, and Horst became very active in the business in the 1890s. Although both of his sons remained involved in the distillery, in the early 1900s, Horst became Abraham’s partner, and the distillery operated thereafter as A.S. Bomberger & Son.
Abraham died in 1904; he was 67 years old. The distillery was then transferred equally to his sons, and the business was renamed A.S. Bomberger’s Sons. By 1904, the distillery had expanded and had six (6) fermenting tubs. In 1907, Abraham’s son, Horst, filed the licenses under his name solely and began advertising Bomberger’s Whiskey as distilled by H.H. Bomberger. Production of Bomberger’s Whiskey continued until 1917—the start of World War I. Unfortunately, the distillery closed in 1919 due to Prohibition, and after the repeal of Prohibition, the family sold the distillery.
In fact, the distillery would be sold numerous times and was eventually purchased and renamed Michter’s. Bomberger’s was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was later declared a National Historic Landmark. Bomberger’s was considered the oldest operating distillery in the United States, albeit under differing owners. The old Bomberger’s distillery closed its doors for the last time in 1990, following Michter’s bankruptcy.
Contributed by: Gwen Hoover, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
with support from Bill & Vicki Gallagher, Mid-Atlantic Rye Whiskey Section Editors, Marriottsville, Maryland