In 1845-1850, George Augustus Mithoff and Theodore Mithoff built a huge distillery between Lock # 12 and Lock # 13. At the time, it was considered to be the largest distillery in the this part of the United States. Three hundred bushels of corn were consumed each day, yielding twelve thousand gallons of superb whiskey. The Mithoff Brothers made a fortune selling tax exempt whiskey during the Civil War. They successfully operated the distillery up until 1869, when they retired and moved to Lancaster to engage in other business ventures.

The excess mash was emptied into the creek, which caused the catfish and carp to become huge. People would regularly come to the village to try and catch the giant fish. The Mithoff Brothers also fed the mash to their pigs to fatten them up before they were sold at market. It worked, but it also caused them to get a little tipsy.

The Mithoff's General Store had a saloon and a post office on the first floor. The village's hall and lodge was located on the second floor. The Mithoff's Warehouse was used to store the barrels of whiskey. It was built along the canal so the goods could easily be loaded and shipped.