Luther King
Luther Green King (1825–1909)
Luther Green King (1825–1909), inherited an equal share of 217 acres, enough to begin a small farm. His father’s will also remanded to him and his brother’s ownership of two slaves. Distilling may have been a natural step for Luther since he had manpower at his disposal and could easily buy rye grain from nearby growers. Thus, he built the only distillery ever known to exist in Montgomery County. The site was near Clarksburg on Burnt Hill Road just off Price Distillery Road
Trouble Enough Indeed. The distillery was a three-story structure, with an office for making sales and a loading dock where horse-drawn wagons could carry away barrels of whiskey. It was a modest operation, probably worked in close conjunction with farming interests. The clientele likely was a local one. Collectors of Maryland whiskeys contend that they do not know of a label King-made whiskey bottle or jug. This suggests that Luther sold his stock to saloonkeepers who doled out a drink at a time or filled containers brought in by their customers. Nonetheless, Maryland rye was the drink of choice for most of King’s neighbors and trade probably was brisk. From time to time, King may even have found himself in competition with his close neighbor, Levi Price. For much of his distilling career, King lived in a small log cabin near the business. His house was three bays by one bay with a small front porch and a foundation of local fieldstone. As he prospered financially, he built a much larger structure, a log house he named “Trouble Enough Indeed.”
Not Just Whiskey. Besides whiskey, the great passion in Luther King’s life was music. He lived at a time when every community prided itself on its brass band. Nearby Hyattstown bragged that its ensemble was “not to be excelled by any band in the county.” As a younger man, Luther had learned to play the trombone and was a member of the Clarksburg Band. Subsequently he formed a musical group of his own, called the Kings Valley Band. It included at least six other members of the King family.
Luther King’s Legacy. The spacious new home was not the only sign of King’s growing prosperity. He was also buying land for farming purposes and came to own 176 acres, 70 of it fertile farmland. His wealth, however, primarily was generated by the distillery. At his death in 1909, King left a substantial estate. The principal item was 49,000 gallons of whiskey in bond — worth a fortune — representing five years of product (1904-1909). Also in his estate were 19 new whiskey barrels, 50 bushels of malt, and 90 bushels of rye. He left “Trouble Enough Indeed” to his widow, Mary, who later remarried. He willed the land on which the distillery sat to his brother John and the distillery itself to his grandson, John R. Lewis.
With Luther King’s passing, whiskey production appears to have ceased almost immediately. We can speculate that the grandson was unwilling or unable to continue the operation. Today the distillery site is covered over with scrub trees, vines and weeds, at the southeastern edge of Little Bennett Regional Park. The only indication that it ever existed is a historical marker erected beside Burnt Hill Road, not far from the intersection of Price Distillery Road.
Contributed by: Joey Bauer, Frederick, Maryland
with support from Bill & Vicki Gallagher, Mid-Atlantic Rye Whiskey Section Editors, Marriottsville, Maryland