The Lemp Family of St. Louis: Lager, Suicide and Ghosts

A Very Brief Overview

            Tonight I’ll be staying at the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis and I thought a brief overview of the family and why the house is so haunted was in order. This is just a tiny view of the rise of a brewing empire and its subsequent fall.

The Family and Business

           

            Adam Lemp, a German immigrant to St. Louis, was the first in the city and among the first in the US to brew lager. As thus, he quickly built the foundation of a empire for himself and his family during the mid 19^th century.  

            Upon Adam’s death in 1862, his son, William J. Lemp took over the business and propelled the brewery into the 20^th century by installing the first refrigeration unit in an American brewery. He also became the first in St. Louis to install a bottling plant on the same grounds where the beer was brewed. But he didn’t stop there, he also purchased his own railway company in order to sell his beer across the country and internationally.

            By the 1900’s the Lemp’s were among the wealthiest families in St. Louis and there was no sign of a decline anytime soon. But fate struck in 1901 when Frederick Lemp, William J. Lemp’s favorite son died of heart failure knocking over the first domino in what would be a cascading collapse of the family.

            Frederick was reported to be William’s favorite son and his death hit him hard. But no one realized just how hard until a gun shot rang out from his bedroom on the morning of February 13^th 1904.

            William J. Lemp was dead. He had taken his own life and become the first of four suicides the Lemp family would suffer before the end.

            While William Lemp Jr. did his best to hold on to the family business after his father’s death, prohibition took all control out of his hands. In 1920 it became illegal to sell alcohol in the United States and the Lemp business was suddenly without a product to sell. Even though the Lemp family wealth was more than enough to see them through the hard times ahead, prohibition marked the end of one of the greatest brewing dynasties in the United States.

            It was at this time that the Lemp family lost it’s second member to suicide. Though her motives are not completely clear, in March of 1920 Elsa, the youngest daughter of William Sr. shot and killed herself in the same manner as her father. She had recently gone through marriage difficulties and suffered from a bout of depression due to health problems. But no note was ever found.

            Then, just two years later in December of 1922, William Lemp Jr. also shot and killed himself. It was known that William had gone through a rather difficult and public divorce in which he lost custody of his son and, due to prohibition, was now losing his company. All this sent him into a deep depression which sadly resulted in the taking of his own life.

            After prohibition, an attempt at reviving the Lemp name in beer was made by William Lemp III, but failed ending the dynasty once and for all. Members of the family continued to live off of the great wealth amassed by their predecessors but also engaged in their own business ventures. But the stream of suicides had not yet run their course.

            In 1949 Charles Lemp, a son of William Sr. was still living in the Lemp mansion. Not much is known about Charles as he was a bit of a recluse. He never married and had very little to do with social life. But it was known that he was suffering from illness and acute arthritis which had made him grow bitter and tired. In May of 1949, Charles decided he’d had enough and he too shot and killed himself along with his dog.

            After Charles’s death his fortune was split among the remnants of the family but the mansion was never occupied by a member of the Lemp family again.  

            With so much death and tragedy it’s no wonder the Lemp Mansion is reported to be haunted by spirits of the family. The current owners of the mansion, employees, guests and even professional investigators report paranormal activity at Lemp. Some of the claims are of disembodied voices, feelings of being watched, lights turning on and off on their own, strange smells and feelings of dread. These experiences combined with the mansion’s sad past have put the Lemp Mansion on the map as one of the most haunted spots in the United States.

Where to hear about my night at Lemp

            As previously mentioned I’ll be staying the night at the Lemp Mansion Thursday, September 19^th and I’ll be live tweeting about my experience throughout the night. You can find my tweets at @AislinnAM. Also, after the event I’ll be posting information on my visit here at the blog along with pictures and any other evidence we might find. So be sure to check back!

Questions or Comments?

As always, if you have any questions or comments for me, please feel free to contact me either through email at aislinnmarshallwriter@gmail.com or leave a comment here!