Willow Springs Distilling Company - History

History

Brought to Omaha from Iowa in 1866, Willow Springs began as a "little one-horse concern" owned by J.C. McCoy. The company was seized by the federal government in 1869 in lieu of McCoy's defaulted revenue tax payments. The same year the government sold it to James G. McGrath and Peter E. Iler, operating as Iler and Company. Iler was later heavily involved in anti-prohibition movements in Nebraska preceding the national campaign, as well as being an initial investor in the South Omaha Land Company and the Omaha Stockyards. In 1871 the distillery was incorporated as the Willow Springs Distilling Company. The original distillery was located at 4th and Pierce Streets, immediately south of Downtown Omaha.