Tap Handle #738: Furnace Room - Wright House Red Ale

December 17, 2019

Tap Handle #738: Furnace Room - Wright House Red Ale

Tap size: 10.5"
Rarity: less than 10 seen
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

This is the fourth and final Furnace Room tap that I will be profiling. The Wright House Red Ale tap handle's main feature is a column of red brick. At the top is decal with the name of the beer. Below that, a vintage steam engine protrudes from the brick structure. Under that is a decal with the words "red ale" against a white background, and at the very bottom is the label bearing the brewery's name. Sculpted streams of steam come off the the engine's smokestack and wrap all the way around to the back of the tap. On the sides, below the brick, are the flame decals that are the brewery's symbol and are seen on some of the other Furnace Room taps. I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have never seen a Wright House tap on the secondary market, and as I have stated previously, Furnace Room's production brewery has only been open for a year, so it's possible some of these could pop up in the future.

The Wright House (located across the parking lot from the Furnace Room Brewery) dates back to the early 20th century. Originally called The Railway Exchange Hotel, and then later The Station House Hotel, it was built by John Higgins, who saw the opportunity to cater to traffic created by eighteen passenger trains passing through Georgetown daily right on his doorstep. Higgins was married to George Kennedy's daughter (Kennedy was Georgetown's founder) and had the resources for construction. The building was purchased in 1913 by experienced hotelier Harry Wright. With the heavy rail traffic, and two paper mills directly across the tracks, the hotel was serving sometimes 200 meals daily during peak periods. The Grand Trunk Railway used the Exchange Hotel for passenger accommodation when a train accident occurred locally. The Wright family often supplied blankets to stranded passengers who were satisfied to sleep on the floor during emergencies. Harry Wright’s grandson, Glen Wright Hillock, was one the last family members to operate the hotel which closed in 2003. Like the former McGibbon Hotel in the downtown core, plans are underway for the old Station House Hotel to be partially preserved and provide accommodation to a new generation of Georgetown residents. Habitat for Humanity has recently purchased the site with hopes of constructing four townhouses.