John Hanning Distillery was built in 1869 by Pup Creek on the Yelvington Road about eight miles from Owensboro by John Hanning. It burned in the fall of 1880, and a year later, it was rebuilt about a mile west of the Daviess County Courthouse – about where English Park is today.
It had a capacity of distilling 35,000 barrels a day. Its top brand was the John Hanning Hand-Made Sour Mash Whiskey. It continued to make bourbon until shortly before Prohibition began in 1920.
