Thornton Distilling Co.

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Our Story

The colorful history of Thornton Distilling Co. and our tasting room, The Well at The Distillery can be traced back to 1857. The brick and limestone building was built by the John S. Bielfeldt family on the west bank of Thorn Creek in the small Village of Thornton, Illinois. The artesian well already was on the property where a log cabin saloon and brewery had opened in 1836. The Bielfeldt family built a residence above the well and The Bielfeldt Brewing Company began producing exceptionally fine beer and would continue to do so for decades.

At the onset of Prohibition, the Bielfeldt Brewing Company was sold. The new owner bottled soda pop and continued to produce beer. Soon, federal agents raided it. Legend has it that thousands of gallons of beer were dumped into Thorn Creek. The new owner also captured the eye of Chicago bootlegger, Al Capone who had a network of beer and booze suppliers for speakeasies throughout Chicagoland's South Side. His henchman, Joe Saltis, moved in to take control. It was only a matter of time before Chicagoland’s bootlegging gangsters engaged in territorial disputes and the violence of gangland wars began.

Eventually, Capone and Saltis were named on the Public Enemies List released by the Chicago Crime Commission. They were Numbers One and Nine, respectively. Neither the Village nor the brewery's latest owners wanted association with either man and they quickly faded from public view: Capone to prison and Saltis to rural Wisconsin.

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