Whiskey and Other Alcohol Have Been Distilled Here Since 1856
McCormick Distillery, Weston Missouri
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Excellent spring water is essential for the distilling of smooth whiskey, and the continuous existence of a distillery at David Holladay's Spring since 1856 attests to the superior quality of the groundwater near Weston, Missouri. "Holladay's spring, rock distillery building, and aging caves are now the nucleus of McCormick Distillery, the only whiskey distillation operation in the State of Missouri. Although the distillery and spring have endured many changes in ownership through the years, they have supported a commercial distilling operation continuously since 1857.
The spring at Weston is noted on the earliest extant map of the Platte Purchase. This 1838 map, executed to describe the region surrounding Ft. Leavenworth, locates the spring at a junction in an old Indian trail that had traversed western Missouri many years before cartographers entered Platte County. A claim to the property containing the spring was registered on March 1st, 1846, ten years after the annexation of the Platte region to Missouri. Land titles were not recorded in Platte County until 1844, but the earliest abstracts show no claim registered for the spring until they were purchased by William J. Norris, who eventually sold his tract to Benjamin Holladay in 1849, for $8,000. Holladay, a stagecoach entrepreneur of considerable wealth, apparently did not develop a distillery
on the site of the spring until his brother, David Holladay, speculated that the existence of the "bland-water" spring might provide an ideal location for the distillation of spirits. Accordingly, he commissioned a Mr. Beloit to travel from Peoria, Illinois, to "locate and plan the distillery," for which he was paid $178.80 on February 2nd, 1857.
David Holladay's business ledger indicates that work began on the rock distillery building during April 1857. Apparently work had progressed significantly by May 1857, since his records show the receipt of several "distillery books" during that month, suggesting Holladay's first brew had begun that spring. On August 5th, 1857, Holladay paid his stone mason, and in September, ordered the installation of 7,798 shingles for the distillery building.
The construction of the building coincides with the transfer of the spring and surrounding land from Benjamin Holladay to David Holladay's "Platte County Hemp Manufacturing and Distilling Company," in September 1858.
It is uncertain whether the Holladay brothers operated a hemp manufactory in Platte County, but the distillery was obviously successful since the initial spirits were aged sufficiently to be marketed by October 1858. Originally, Holladay traded small quantities of his whiskey for supplies, such as brooms, meal, and salt. Quantity sales began in November 1858. By December, David Holladay was marketing his beverage in quantities as great as 757 gallon lots, at a price of 35¢ a gallon. Holladay's ledger also suggests that he constructed a cooperage and boarding house on the distillery property, both indispensable to the distilling process, since barrels and accommodations for workers were both scarce on the Platte frontier. Apparently, construction of the distillery was financed by Benjamin Holladay, as the ledger records payments of several large notes to his accounts after liquor production commenced.
Although the type of whiskey produced by Holladay cannot be determined, it is assumed that he manufactured "corn liquor" since his papers indicate rather substantial purchases of the grain during 1858 from numerous Platte Valley farmers. It is interesting to speculate that Holladay may have also produced beer in Weston, since an entry in the ledger mentions the purchase of a quantity of hops.
Unfortunately, the Holladay ledger ceases to record distillery finances after January 12th, 1860, but David Holladay's will and testament specifically mention the existence of a functioning distillery at the spring in 1888. Although little is known of David Holladay's operation between 1860 and 1888, it is certain he was producing whiskey in Weston until his death in 1893, and that his heirs continued the distillery. During the execution of David Holladay's estate in 1894, the probate court allowed his son-in-law, a Mr. Barton, to continue the manufacture of whiskey, using the name "Holladay-Barton." However, because of a disagreement among the heirs, the distillery was sold at public auction and the proceeds were divided among the various descendants. The spring and distillery passed from the possession of the family on July 18th, 1900.
The opportunity to distill spirits at Holladay's facilities attracted George H. Shawhan, a distiller from Lone Jack, Missouri, who had lost his original distillery in a fire. The timely sale of the Holladay Distillery prompted Shawhan to recommence operations at Weston. There is no indication that the distillery ceased production during the change of ownership, and by 1902, the brands "Shawhan," "Holladay," and "Lone Jack" whiskeys were distributed throughout the Missouri-Kansas market area.
Shawhan Distilling Company was ordered into receivership by the Platte County Court in 1916 for non-payment of debt, and their whiskey stock was placed in storage. With the passage of the prohibition amendment in 1919, the distillery was closed and remained inoperative until 1933, when the property was reoccupied by the "Old Holladay Distilling Company," a corporation controlled 97% by Shawhan's receivers. The firm was reincorporated in 1939 as the "Old Weston Distillery."
In the years following World War II when liquor was scarce, the proprietors of Old Weston Distillery sold their property to a holding company known as United Distillers, who bought the distillery primarily to acquire 30,000 barrels of whiskey stored in the warehouse. The present owners of the spring and distilling plant at Weston, the Cloud B. Cray Family, of Atchison, Kansas, purchased the property in 1950 from United Distillers. Mr. Richard B. Cray manages the distillery under the name "McCormick," a title acquired from a defunct Platte County distiller in Waldron, Missouri. The original McCormick Distillery was not reopened after Prohibition, and since the Cray Family had also acquired the Waldron facility, the name was changed to their Weston operation.
McCormick Distillery continues today the history of liquor production using the old spring and original Holladay rock distilling building. The "bland-water" spring, free of iron deposits and acid impurities, will continue to provide water in sufficient quantity to maintain an operation indefinitely at the old Holladay Distillery.
You can visit and tour the facility
Site Description
There are several buildings and sites on the McCormick Distillery grounds in Weston, Missouri, and the historical nucleus of the nineteenth-century distillery remains intact. The old "bland-water" spring, from which pure water was drawn, continues to be used in the production of McCormick bourbon and other whiskeys. In addition, the rock building constructed by David Holladay in 1857 is standing on the property and is the primary distilling facility of the McCormick operation. The limestone caves originally used by Holladay for the storing and aging of whiskey have been reopened and repaired by the McCormick Distilling Company and are accessible to tourists. These three sites, the rock distillery building, the caves, and the "bland-water" spring, constitute the three essential components of the distilling process, and all survive from the time of their use by David Holladay's distillery.
McCormick's "bland-water" spring is the primary source of water for the distilling of McCormick bourbon. The subterranean spring flows into a limestone pool approximately twenty feet by fifteen feet in diameter. The pool is fed directly from the spring, and when filled to capacity is nearly 25 feet deep. Approximately 1,200 gallons flow from McCormick Spring during a 24-hour period. McCormick Distillery taps the spring utilizing an underground pipe located at the south side of the pool.
The waters of the spring are excellent for the manufacture of smooth bourbon whiskey since the water maintains a constant 54-degree temperature, regardless of outside weather conditions. Furthermore, the water is virtually free of iron deposits and various acids which could react with the alcohol and spoil the taste of the bourbon. The present owners of the distillery complex, the Cray Family, have attempted to preserve the integrity of their spring by erecting a screened pavilion around the pool, allowing visitors to view the spring while retarding possible damage from debris or mischief.
The rock distillery building, constructed in 1857, is a rubblestone structure of limestone. Although the original building has been obscured in recent years by the construction of an office wing on the east (front) facade, and by the placement of large tanks close to the building, the early structure is relatively intact. It is a rectangular-plan, two-story structure having major appendages added to the east and south facades which obscure original fenestration. The roof peak follows the long axis of the structure. Interior partitions, if any existed, have been removed and replaced by steel catwalks between the various tanks and vats used in the distilling process. The roof was replaced following a fire in 1957, and the building was re-tuckpointed. The new roof reportedly simulates the appearance of the former, with the exception of the shed-like projection near the southeast corner. This extension was done to allow taller distillery appliances and machinery to protrude through the roof. The present roof is a medium-gable pitch, constructed of metal, and supposedly replaced a roof of similar design and material composition. The destruction was limited essentially to machinery and all walls of the distillery survived the fire. The fire exposed early fenestration in the rock walls by removing certain later appendages. The east (main) facade included a large double doorway having a jack-arch, with three equidistantly spaced rectangular-plan windows in the second floor. The center window was raised closer to the roof peak. This window treatment is currently quite obvious in the facade.
The caves used for aging the whiskey are located several hundred yards north of the rock distillery building. The caves occur in a limestone bluff and have been reopened by the McCormick Distilling Company for use by visitors. Interpretive signs, walkways, and a protective pavilion have been erected near the cave opening.
General view of McCormick Spring and Reservoir pool before protective pavilion installed. West-southwest looking east-northeast (1936)
Looking northeast (1973)
