Henry Carl Berghoff (January 6, 1856 – June 28, 1925) was a German American politician, lawyer, and businessman who co-founded the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company in 1887 and served as the 19th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana from 1901 to 1906.
Berghoff was born January 6, 1856, in Dortmund, Kingdom of Prussia (now Germany), and immigrated to the United States in 1872, settling in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1874. Along with three of his brothers, also German immigrants, he co-founded the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company in 1887, and in 1888, they opened their first Berghoff Brewery in Fort Wayne, serving Dortmunder-style Berghoff's Beer. Henry Berghoff held positions in and established various other local businesses throughout his career. A lifelong Democrat active in the party's local leadership, he also became involved with local Fort Wayne politics, serving three terms as Treasurer of Fort Wayne from 1883 to 1889 and as Comptroller of Fort Wayne from 1896 to 1901. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Indiana State Treasurer in 1890. In 1893, he assisted the county sheriff in putting down a local riot. From 1900 to 1902, he served as Chairman of the Allen County Democratic Committee.
In the 1901 Fort Wayne mayoral election, Berghoff received the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Fort Wayne. He went on to defeat Republican Charles E. Reese and Socialist Martin H. Wefel in the general election after a heated campaign in which his Republican opponents harshly criticized his German background. He took office upon being sworn in on May 9. As mayor, Berghoff presided over the opening of the first electric interurban railroad in Fort Wayne in 1901, the completion of the current Allen County Courthouse in 1902, the completion of the South Wayne Sewer at the end of 1902, and the appointment of the first Fort Wayne Board of Parks Commissioners in 1905. He took sweeping actions throughout his mayoralty to restrict immorality and crime in the city. Nevertheless, he came under controversy for his handling of the threat of a water famine in 1901, his refusal to approve the bond of Robert B. Dreibelbiss for his appointment to the Fort Wayne Municipal Court in 1902, and his approval of an ordinance granting a municipal franchise to the Fort Wayne Electric Light and Power company in 1904. In 1905, Berghoff was defeated in a bid for City Councilman-at-large. Berghoff left office on January 1, 1906, after serving a four-and-a-half-year term as mayor of Fort Wayne (the only mayor of Fort Wayne to do so).
After his mayoralty, Berghoff returned to business with the Berghoff Brewery and various other local establishments, most notably the German-American National Bank, which he had co-founded in 1905, and Rub-No-More Soap Company. Berghoff died in Fort Wayne on June 28, 1925 after suffering an apoplectic stroke, survived by his wife and several children.
Henry Carl Berghoff was born January 6, 1856, in Dortmund, Germany (then Prussia), the son of Franz Anton and Lizette (Boelhauve) Berghoff. Franz Anton, a carpenter, was described by the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette as "a prominent burgher" of the city. Henry had five brothers (Theodor, Anton, Herman, Hubert, and Gustav) and one sister (Elizabeth). In Dortmund, after receiving a high school education and graduating from Dortmund University, Henry first held an office job at a mercantile institution, and subsequently held a job at a bank. He worked in Cologne for one of the largest banking institutions in Germany.
In 1872, following the lead of his older brother Herman, Henry immigrated to the United States; following a two-year stay in Pittsburgh, the brothers settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1874. They chose to settle in Fort Wayne supposedly after Henry was offered a job there when the train they were aboard made a stop in the city. Their younger brothers, Hubert and Gustav, later immigrated to the United States and also settled in Fort Wayne. During the next few years after his arrival in the United States, Henry held a range of jobs as a clerk and a bookkeeper, most notably working for a year as an insurance solicitor for the S.C. Lumbard Agency, six years as the bookkeeper for a local grocery store known as A.C. Trentman, and two years as the local agent for the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company. He also studied law, and began practicing as a lawyer.
On September 18, 1877, Berghoff married Theresa Mayer, with whom he would have nine children.
In 1883, Berghoff and his brother Herman bought East End Bottling Works, a bottling company in Fort Wayne. On May 25, 1887, Henry and his brothers Herman, Hubert, and Gustav, established the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company in Fort Wayne. The brand of beer Henry and his brothers sold under the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company was known as "Berghoff’s Beer." This Dortmunder-style beer was made with ingredients imported from Germany. In 1888, the brothers opened their first Berghoff Brewery in Fort Wayne. At the brewery, Berghoff's Beer was brewed and sold. On August 22, the brothers experienced a setback when the brewery caught fire, resulting in $50,000 in damages. Brewing resumed exactly a month later. Demand for their beer grew, and by 1890, the brothers were outputting 90,000 barrels of lager a year. In 1893, their brand was brought to national attention when Herman sold Berghoff's Beer at the Chicago World's Fair. In 1898, Herman opened a restaurant called The Berghoff, in Chicago, where it is still family owned and operated today. The restaurant served Berghoff's Beer. Around this time, the name of the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company was changed to the "Berghoff Brewing Company." By the end of his life, Henry had served as vice president, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Berghoff Brewing Company.
In 1892, Gustav purchased a Fort Wayne soap manufacturing company called Summit City Soap Works, where Henry held the position of vice president. Henry also entered into a partnership with Artificial Ice Company, was the proprietor of Globe Spice Mills, manager of Crescent Paper Company in New Haven, owner of the Monning Flouring Company, and was the treasurer of Phoenix Building and Savings Union.
Berghoff, a lifelong Democrat, became involved in local politics. In April 1883, Berghoff received the Democratic nomination for treasurer of Fort Wayne. He was victorious in the general election, and took office on September 3, succeeding Charles M. Barton. He was re-elected as treasurer of Fort Wayne twice, running unopposed in the May 1885 general election and defeating Republican nominee Allan H. Dougall and Union Labor nominee Charles J. Sosenheimer in the general election of May 1887. Berghoff left office on August 31, 1889, after declining to seek a fourth term. He was succeeded by Sosenheimer. On April 24, 1885, during his re-election campaign for treasurer, Berghoff was involved in a physical altercation with Captain Christian Hettler at a Fort Wayne saloon. After Hettler criticized Berghoff's performance as treasurer and called him names, Berghoff, feeling insulted, struck Hettler in the neck. The two exited the building to continue the altercation after receiving a warning from the saloonkeeper that violence was unacceptable inside his saloon. Outside, the fight was broken up by mutual friends, and neither Berghoff nor Hettler received any serious injuries. Nevertheless, according to The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel, Berghoff left "a clean and exemplary record" as treasurer.
In 1890, Berghoff sought the Democratic nomination for Indiana State Treasurer, but was defeated by businessman Albert Gall at the September 3 Democratic State Convention in Indianapolis, placing a close second. This endeavor, which included Berghoff's canvassing of every county in the state for votes, helped him gain statewide political prominence. In the general election, he endorsed Gall, who was victorious.
On Memorial Day in 1893, Fort Wayne railway workers went on strike, demanding their pay be increased from thirteen and a half cents an hour to fifteen cents an hour. The workers quickly resorted to rioting. Sheriff E. F. Clausmeier appointed multiple civilians to the position of deputy sheriff, including Henry Berghoff, to assist him with putting down the disturbances. On June 2, Berghoff spoke at the meeting that was held to review measures to put down the riots. The rioting ended that day after the strikers’ demands of wage increase were met.