The Horse & Plow

General information

Enjoy casual pub fare and an amazing selection of American micro-brews and premium European beers at The Horse & Plow in Kohler.

Handsomely decorated in rich wood, brass and stained glass, this casual historic tavern was once the tap room for Kohler Co. workers who lived at The American Club®. Abundant booths convey a cozy atmosphere, while the tabletops, made from the original American Club bowling alley, perpetuate the historic tradition of Kohler Co.

The history of The Horse & Plow: The American club was built in 1918 as a home for “single men of modest means” … immigrant men who came to work at the Kohler Co. In 1924, a recreation center (later to become The Horse & Plow) was added. Here the men spend their free time in the bar and game room of four pool tables and fifteen sturdy card tables.
After a day of work at Kohler Co., and time spent studying English at evening school or in the reading rooms of The American Club, the men would come to the recreation center for camaraderie and good natured competition at the pool and card tables. Skat and Schafskopf, old German card games using a 32 card deck, were popular then.
Once Prohibition ended in 1933, a common sight in the recreation center would be a group of skat players sharing a huge tulip (64 oz.) of beer, which costs 40 cents. A nickel would buy a cold ham, pork, or beef sandwich on rye.

In the early 1940’s major remodeling took place within the Club and a 4-lane bowling alley was installed in the west end of the Tap Room. Bowlers paid 15 cents a line and 35 cents for the most popular libation, a shot and a beer. At the end of each season it was custom to hold a ‘bust-up’ party in the Tap Room. A long table would be heaped with potato salads, cole slaw, cold cuts, buttered slices of rye bread, hot mustard, crunchy dill pickles and the traditional “tiger meat” … ground sirloin with onions.

The old oak bar, echoes of rumbling bowling balls and slapping of cards on the tables are gone now, but what happily remains and continues in The Horse & Plow is the atmosphere of good fellowship… the spirit of Gemutlichkeit