Locals may recognize the Marblehead Brewing Company as the oldest brewery in town—the “oldest Orthodox monastic brewery in the world” according to founder Father Andrew Bushell.
But one of the first breweries to ever take root in town was the Thomas Bodkin House and Brewery, located on 6 Union St. in Marblehead Center.
According to historicmassachusetts.org, the Thomas Bodkin House is one of a large number of colonial houses concentrated in Marblehead’s Old Town. Yet, it seems to be the only one with a brewery added into the architecture.
Built in 1728, the asphalt-shingled roof and modest clapboard walls model the colonial-style structures of Old Town. Circle back to the building’s rear to find the brewery, a half-story gambrel structure added in 1735 to continue the Bodkin family’s distillery business.
According to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, Bodkin added the brewery to the house after the original owner, Stephen Minot, sold him the land. The deed was passed between merchants and mariners of all sorts, and the family brewery seems to have disappeared along with the changes in ownership.
Evidence also shows stylistic modifications in the early half of the 19th century, such as the removal of a stone mantle and a trapezoidal addition to the left side of the house — but, no signs of touches to the brewery.
Of course, though the brewery itself no longer is up and running, next time you’re taking a nice swig of beer or a fine crafted bourbon around Essex County, remember that one of its oldest distilleries still stands — right here in Marblehead.