Simon Eimer became one of the wealthiest industrialists of his day — a biographer states: “Eimer was prominent in every activity good for a city”. He arrived in 1844. In 1848, he built a bath house, followed by an entertainment park south of the Public Square and a hall on West Main Street. He served as a member of the Board of Education. As an alderman, he was appointed to a committee to plan for a new Market Square, a new Engine House and a new City Hall. He was a pioneer in the brewing industry of the Mississippi Valley and opened the Washington Brewery in 1846. The rebuilt brewery in 1859 was the largest brewery west of the Allegheny Mountains. The cellars were two stories deep in the ground. His nephew, John, also emigrated from Germany to help him manage his affairs which included investments in New Orleans and California.
