My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

[dave ziegler]

Jono while Publicker owned the Plant everything was kept up, and even back in the Early 1980's when they were leasing The Bottling House and tankage and some other buildings after they sold it, it was all still kept up. When they sold their Plants in Phila and quit the Alcohol Bussiness the Guy from new York that had bought the Kinsey Plant saying he was going to make a industrial Park out of the rest of it, Just locked it up a week or so after Continental Left. Shut down the Boilers turned the power off and left it rot. The Sad part was in 1986 all the Old Buildings were still in good shape the House Down back had a new roof and There was power to all the Old Buildings till the man whose Last Name is Ostricker who still owns it just got rid of all the people who worked in storage for him and the Boiler rooms in the Plant for him and shut it all down and walked away.

Now it is in Ruin if only someone would have steped in and saved all the front buildings including old #12 they could have made a great History Museum of it and made the Warehouses into Condo's and called it the Condo's At Kinsey Distillery Museum! Everything was shut off in fall 1986. And time has taken its toll and Kids have done their share too!
I guess he just pays the taxes and writes it off.
Sometimes I swear I hear Jake Kinsey saying How can this Be! All of the Old Buildings on Page 25 that I just posted this morning all had power till fall 1986.

One last thing the New Nikon Camera is Amazing the shots I took in the 1966 Bottle House were in total Darkness and they look like the lights are on there.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon
________________________________________

[dave ziegler]

Here are some more shots from Sunday to add to the ones back on the page before.
Pictures are
1. thru 6. Colapsed Racks in Old 1892 Kinsey Warehouse A & B
7. Looking out from the #10 Rye barn
8. & 9. Walls of Warehouses A & B
10. Looking across from old #12 Still site to Warehouses F & G across where the Train used to come in across our Bridge
11. Back wall Of #10 Rye Barn Dsp-Pa-10
12.Looking From Where The Top of The Still was to the Bottom
13. & 14. Grain Buildings
15. The Plant Maintance Barn
16. Piles Of Bricks lay where the Old Plant Office once stood Mr Harold Reinert, Plant Manager, Ruth Harrington and Linda letter used to work inthere Plus Walter Beeber.

I will post the last of the Pictures tomorrow and there are some great ones of the Old Bottling house plus others
Dave Z
________________________________________
It Seems All the Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
________________________________________

[Jono]

Dave have you seen this? Not sure if posted before or not.

http://www.ellenjaye.com/kin_kinsey.htm

[dave ziegler]

Yes Jono I have seen that one and I even e mailed them to tell them some of my Inside Information but they have never responded to me! I was not happy when they speculated that they did not know if Old #12 had been used ever by Continental. I wanted to tell them Yes till Spring 1951 but they never answered me back. I just wanted to share some of my information with them for their site for History Sake which is very nice and informative but it never happened! So I put it here and Let people enjoy it, and as Long as I can talk to the Old Guys I will continue.

By The way on this page the Pictures of Brick & Wood Warehouses A & B Which Kinsey built right after He founded the Place 1892 are the Ones I mentioned That Ludy Said they used a Y Shaped Chain with two hooks on one end to put on each side of the barrel Head and one hook to put on the Lift above on the inside of the roof. Sounded very Dangerous lowering the Full barrels that way But Ludy said they never Had one pop loose and fall so guess it worked the way it should!
Dave Z
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Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey
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[dave ziegler]

here are some more of the Pictures i took at Kinsey on Sunday with my New Camera!
1.thru 4./ Kinsey Dsp-Pa- 10 Rye barn
5. & 6.Alley between Warehouse D & E and Old Bottle House
7. Alley between Back #10 Barn and Bottling house which was built in the early 1930's Before prohibition they used the #10 barn Which was Built in 1892
8. Back side room in Old Kinsey Bottling house and the two front rooms which ran 3 lines 1930's and in the 1940's when Continental ran it for a while for whiskeys 3 shifts as Ludy told me! The Whole Building was then used for the making of Liqours such as Caffe Lolita and Peanut Lolita. Note the old Blending Tank might even be one Ludy used back when He blended whiskey in there for Labels such as Maywood Blended! Also the Cathonic & Anonic Tanks and filter tank! Old Stairs to the tops floor rooms, Take note of the Red Painted spots on walls and Posts they had fire extinguers mounted where ever there is a red Spot.
I will Post some more tomorrow or Late today Here!
Dave Z
______________________________________________
It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's most magnificent Bourbon
______________________________________________

[dave ziegler]

Here are some more shots from my trip to Kinsey Last week!
1. You can still read Warehouse D on this Old Kinsey warehouse built at the turn of the Century.
2. The Building put on Warehouse D to put the Fire Mains when Continental Bought Kinsey
3. Set of Rails to put on big rails to take in or out Barrels going into Warehouse D
4. Stenciled writting with Union Local on there
5. Kinsey Rye stenciled
6. Kinsey Stenciled
7. Joe 44 stamped with the old time Barrel marker that they used to stamp barrels back in the old days. Joe would Have Been My Old friend Joe Machukas
8. & 9. More stenciling from back in the 1940's
Dave Z
__________________________________________
Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey
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[dave ziegler]

Here are 3 more pictures from out front of the House George Dill a Kinsey Company man lived in and also the company Nurse that drank Bourbon and Coffee had her office on the first floor of this old House. Another note about this house Ludy told me at the end before Jacob Kinsey went Bankrupt He moved in this house from the house down back. Around 1937,1938.
Dave Z
_______________________________
Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey
_______________________________

[Jono]

What the photos clearly demonstrate is how nature takes back within a very short period of time.....sapplings become trees and trees will break wood and brick structures over time....roots uplift, branches intertwine and push in....just like those jungle covered Mayan cities....you would never know they were there unless you did aerial surveillance or stumbled upon some stonework.

[dave ziegler]

Here are the last of the Pictures I took at Kinsey last Sunday
It sadly is as you said Jono Trees and weeds and abandonment have taken their toll on Kinsey in these Last 22 yrs since it closed forever! Some Kid walking there one day said to me, did they make Wine here He did not have a clue

1. Old Home made Light Stand with Explosion Proof Light that went sideways
2.Where the Wall of Old Warehouse D and Kinsey Dsp-Pa-10 meet to form one wall
3. Looking toward the Old Bottle House and Barn from the Maintaince Barn
4. & 5. Attic of Maintaince Barn was always used for storing New Electrical stuff
6. 2nd floor of the Maintaince barn used to keep machines back in the day
7. Old Ladder in #10 Barn
8. looking over from the Maintaince Barn at the 1966 Bottling house the Docks
9. Sign on Building M
Dave Z
_________________________________________
It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's most Magnificent Bourbon
__________________________________________

[Jono]

What is ridiculous is that there appears to be a tremendous amount of heavy timber that could be reclaimed and sold at a profit....rather than let rot away.
Same for the metal....sad as it is....either recycle it or watch it rust away.
The bricks have value too.....

Fools....but I am sure there is some "rational" economic reason to just abandon it.....isn't there a local government interest in the property?

I am surprised it has not been taken over by meth labs, crack house operations, homeless squaters etc.