Historic Ales, Beers and Breweries of Rhode Island
Read's Brewery: 1838-1855 Fletcher & Co. Brewery: 1856-1868 William F. Baker & Co.:1868-1870 Read's Brewery, William F. Baker,
Prop.: 1871-?
This is one of the most obscure and least known
breweries to ever operate in the State of Rhode Island.
In 1838, a brewer by the name of Rufus Read ran a
brewery at the corner of Atwell's Avenue and Abbott Street in Providence, Rhode Island. At the time, it was
simply known as Read's Brewery. In 1841, Rufus Read moved his establishment to the corner of
Pine Street and Richmond Street in Providence. This new location was an old defunct church building which, interestingly
enough, also housed an indoor circus at one time. Built in 1798, it was known as the old "Tin Tap"
Church. How it got this namesake is uncertain, but it may have had something to do with the fact that
after Read quit the brewery business in 1855, he began a business of tinsmithing and selling stoves.
In 1856, the old "Tin Tap" Church once again became a brewery under the new ownership of Calvin Fletcher. It then
went by the name of the Calvin Fletcher & Co. and produced such products as Cream Ale and Superior Pale XX. The brewery
was also a wholesaler of lager beers and raw products such as malt, hops and barley.
Calvin Fletcher soon
took on two partners to help with the operations of his brewery. These two gentlemen were Samuel A. Wesson and William
F. Baker. They eventually took over the brewery in 1868 when Fletcher decided to leave the business. The
brewery then became known as the William F. Baker & Co. Within a short period of time, Baker became the
brewery's sole proprietor. By 1870, he was advertising his establishment as it had been in the beginning,
Read's Brewery under William F. Baker, Proprietor.
In addition to numerous newspaper advertisements,
the only real physical pictorial evidence we have that this brewery existed is a full page illustration printed in a
January 12, 1908 issue of the Providence Illustrated Sunday Tribune. It shows the brewery's location in Providence
in the "old" days as well as how it currently looked "new." By 1908, the old "Tin Tap" Church
had been torn down and the corner of Pine and Richmond Streets was occupied by a large, modern jewelery building.
The old "Tin Tap" Church/Calvin Fletcher & Co. Brewery as illustrated in
the Providence Sunday Tribune, 1908
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