Brewer Fuel Fund
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Charles Brewer migrated from Taunton, Ma. to Pittsburgh in 1841 at the age of 30. Ambitious, industrious and frugal, he sought fame and fortune and eventually owned a dry goods business at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Market Street.
Brewer was a prominent citizen interested in the welfare of the community. By the time he died, he owned a block on Fifth Avenue and many shares of local railroads and industrial enterprises. He also held a controlling interest as silent partner in the firm of A. H. English and a fine residence, erected in 1830 on Western Avenue, in what was then known as Allegheny City, and now as the North Side.
A year before his death in 1860, at age 76, Brewer created a fund to provide free coal to people who could not afford it on their own. In alignment with that goal, The Pittsburgh Foundation distributes income from the Brewer Fuel Fund to nonprofit agencies that provide fuel allocations to individuals and to help pay fuel bills for agencies that shelter people experiencing housing crisis.