James River Steam Brewery
Historical highway marker V-55 · Henrico County
Nearby stood the James River Steam Brewery, built in 1866 during a national boom in beer production. The five-story facility contributed to Richmond's post-Civil War industrial recovery, and its beer garden served as a community center. David G. Yuengling Jr., part-owner, was the oldest son of the founder of D. G. Yuengling and Son in Pennsylvania, now considered the nation’s oldest continuously operating brewery. The James River brewery featured steam-powered equipment and an extensive underground warehouse or "lager" for storage and fermentation. The business closed by 1879 in the aftermath of a national economic crisis. A fire in 1891 destroyed the main building, but the cellars survive.
Department of Historic Resources, 2019