Brewer, J. H.

J. H. Brewer, born in Linn County, Missouri, on July 15, 1877, became one of Selma’s most successful business men and a highly regarded judge of livestock. The son of a Union Army veteran, he spent his youth working on his father’s stock-farm and married Alice Streets before moving west to California in 1902. He initially spent a couple of years buying, selling, and feeding stock to establish himself in the region. In 1905, he partnered with his brother, A. T. Brewer, to open a meat business in Sanger, which they ran for four years before moving to the Eschol district to manage a country market and 220 acres of land.

The brothers later relocated to Selma and purchased the Selma Meat Company, an enterprise that J. H. Brewer eventually co-owned with A. C. Casner starting in 1917. Known as a dedicated worker, he managed the outside operations, buying, and slaughtering that secured the market’s long-term success. His extensive agricultural holdings expanded to include 160 acres located south of Selma, along with an additional 80 acres situated further south. A patriotic supporter of his community, he also became a popular member of the Woodmen of the World at Selma.