Charles Ferdinand Rossteuscher was born in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. After the death of his wife in 1853 he and his infant daughter Anna emigrated to America. They settled in L'Eau Qui Court County, Nebraska Territory where Charles became a merchant.

In 1866 he relocated across the river and opened a brewery in Yankton. Yankton was a booming town at the end of the Civil War, with a population larger than that of Denver and rivaling that of Omaha. It had just been declared the Territorial Capital of Dakota and it was major steamboat stop on the Missouri River. This made for a constant flow of thirsty travelers, and later thirsty gold prospectors, to which Rossteuscher could sell his beer. The Yankton City Brewery ultimately flourished for 21 years under his management.

Charles Ferdinand Rossteuscher died on the 17th of August, 1887 at the age of 60 years at which point ownership passed to Blume & Hameister. The brewery Rossteuscher founded survived until it's doors were forced shut by South Dakota state Prohibition in 1917.

Henry Meyers, one of the founders of the brewery in Yankton, South Dakota, died in Pierre.

Prohibition in South Dakota Begins.  On October 4, 1889 The new state of South Dakota's Constitution appeared on the same ballot as statewide Prohibition.  Both items were passed by citizen vote. 39,608 were in favor of Prohibition and 33,456 against. Because the law was unclear as to what was an intoxicating liquor, breweries were allowed to exist.