Our History
In 1880, Calvin Carr opened the building as a livery stable to provide the town with horse and buggy services. The original building was twice the size, with additional wings that stretched from Portland St. to Division St., and was built with a solid brick vernacular architecture, typical for 1880 livery stables. Fast forward to 1921, the livery stable was renovated and became Voell Auto Sales, a local car dealership. In 1940, the building was transformed again and became a parking garage for the downtown hotel.
In 2018, Samuel Meyer purchased and completely restored the livery stable into a first-floor German-style pub and Biergarten. He wanted to add a unique downtown living space, so he renovated the second floor into residential lofts. The name 18 Hands Ale Haus was coined after the tavern's history. The former livery stable was built in 1880 on 18 E. Division St; additionally; 18 hands are the measurements of a large horse, with that, we arrived at 18 Hands Ale Haus.
Some have asked, why a German-style pub? Owner Samuel Meyer wanted to continue the German beer tradition created by Fond du Lac's first German Brewery, A.G. Bechaud & Bros. Brewery, in 1871. With Fond du Lac County having such a strong German presence, Samuel being 2/3's German descent himself, he felt it would be a good fit for the Fond du Lac community.
