Yellowstone Distillery, Inc. Architectural drawings, 1928-1983

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Yellowstone Distillery, Inc. 

Title:  Architectural drawings, 1928-1983 

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department. 

Size of Collection:  3 ovsz. folders 

Location Number:  Mss. AR Y43 

Scope and Content Note 

These drawings include plats, surveys, floor plans, elevations, technical drawings, flow diagrams, and correspondence related to the Yellowstone Distillery in Shively, Kentucky, 1928-1933.  

Folder 1 contains surveys and plats of the Yellowstone Distillery, 1928-1983, along with correspondence relating to the acquisition of property from the Illinois Central Railroad, 1949-1957.  

Folder 2 contains floor plans and elevations of Yellowstone Distillery buildings, including warehouses, a bottling house, a fermenting house, a research and development laboratory, and a receiving and shipping building, 1941-1978.  

Folder 3 contains technical drawings and flow diagrams of distillery equipment, along with correspondence relating to the installation of steam drying equipment and a tank to be connected to a beer still slop line, 1945-1979. Two drawings depicting Jack Daniel cookers from 1978 are also included.  

Historical Note 

Located at 3000 7th Street Road in Shively, the Yellowstone Distillery opened soon after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. It was built by vice president J. Bernard Dant and his six sons: president and distiller Michael J.; secretary J. Walter; vice president Samuel J.; Felix R., J. Rudolph and Paul R.; and treasurer James Patrick Kearnes Jr., a nephew. The “Yellowstone” brand was first produced by J. Bernard Dant’s former company, the Cold Springs Distillery, which merged with Louisville distributor Taylor & Williams and was renamed the Yellowstone Distillery in 1912. It closed in 1920 after Prohibition began.   

In 1933, following the end of Prohibition, J. Bernard Dant and his family incorporated and built the new Yellowstone Distillery. In addition to the Yellowstone brand, the company produced “Paul Dant,” “Old Trump,” “Coon Range,” “Five Stripe,” “Rich Hill,” “Honey Dew,” and “Big Horn.” In 1944, the distillery was purchased by Glenmore Distilling Company of Owensboro, which operated the plant until it closed in 1991.  

References:  

Zoeller, Chester. Bourbon in Kentucky: A History of Distilleries in Kentucky. 3rd ed. Louisville: Butler Books, 2015.  

“31 Distilleries Get Charters in State.” Louisville Courier-Journal. August 2, 1933.  

“Coon Range.” Louisville Courier-Journal. December 7, 1935.  

Folder List 

Oversize Folders  

  1.  Correspondence, surveys, and plats, 1928-1983  
  2. Architectural drawings, 1941-1978 
  3. Technical drawings and flow diagrams, 1945-1979