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On 13 August 1884, violence broke out at the trial of Iowa City brewers Conrad Graf and John Dostal, who were charged with having violated the state’s new Prohibition law. Local Czechs, Germans, and Irish were not about to give up their drink without a fight, and before the day was out, a rampaging mob had severely wounded an officer of the law, stripped and tarred a lawyer, and forced two witnesses for the prosecution to spend the night in the city jail for their own protection. The riots made national headlines and are still part of local lore. Come help us commemorate one of Iowa City’s more notorious moments in history and find out why tensions between temperance advocates and anti-Prohibitionists boiled over in the Iowa summer of 1884.

This program is part of ICPL's Weber Days, a series of Local History programs and events honoring the memory and work of Iowa City Historian Irving B. Weber.