Today is the birthday of Jacob Knecht (January 25, 1821-May 9, 1910). He was born in Lampertheim, Kreis Bergstraße, Hessen, Germany, and at some point emigrated to the United States in the 1850s, settling in Chillicothe, Ohio, which is located in the south-central part of the state. He bought into the P. J. Loepel in 1877, which Loepel founded three years earlier, in 1874. From 1877-1883 it was known as Knecht & Muehling, but after that became associated only with Jacob Knecht and/or his sons. After changing hands a few times, it closed in 1953, although more recently in 2021 a craft brewery opened using the name Old Capitol Brewing.

Here’s his obituary from the Chillicothe Gazette in May 1910: