History of The Barrel (Keg) - Part 2

The Barrel was part of a chain of barrel shaped root beer stands built by Harry Muzzy and his wife Martha in the 1930’s. Muzzy grew up in Minot, worked as an engineer for the Great Northern Railway until 1920. He moved to Crookston, Minnesota and owned a successful cigar store. He had the opportunity to start a root beer stand in Great Falls, Mt. Aware of the success of the A&W Root Beer stands in California, he thought they would be a success along Highway 2 in the northern part of the country. He built the Great Falls stand in the shape of a 2 story barrel. It was a huge success both as a root beer stand and also as a tourist attraction. Muzzy and his wife lived on the second story of the Great Falls barrel.