Peacock Brewery

Peacock Brewery was a brewing company in Rockford, Illinois, founded by British immigrant Jonathan Peacock in 1849. Peacock began by brewing beer at his home using basic equipment before building a dedicated brewhouse in 1857, and the company grew into Rockford largest brewery for nearly seventy years. After a fire in 1894 and Peacock death in 1896, his sons Frank and Edward expanded output to more than 20,000 barrels a year before both died of tuberculosis in 1899. Croatian immigrant John V. Petritz then modernised the plant, raising capacity to 75,000 barrels annually, but Prohibition forced its closure in 1918. It briefly reopened after repeal under new names, including the Rock River Brewing Company, before closing for good in 1945.