Bottling 1 8-10-2024

It’s interesting to note that for several decades, the bottling industry was very much a part of Willimantic’s business life. Many of us who were around in the 1950s and 60s remember the Coca-Cola plant on West Main Street. Hosmer Mountain Soda is now the only bottler still in the city. It’s worthwhile to remember as well that many bottlers in the city produced alcoholic beverages. But we’ll stick with soda and for the next four weeks Tom Beardsley will give us a look at the area‘s historical relationship with mineral water and soda water manufacture and bottling. The  history of soda water, or soda pop, can be traced  back to 18th century scientists in London and Paris,  attempting to duplicate the natural effervescent,  mineral rich waters from springs across Europe. It  was believed that the effervescence of the water  contained healthful properties. Joseph Campbell, an  Englishman, first patented carbonated water in  London in the 1790s. Flavoring was added, and  "soda pop" was invented. The pop was the sound  made when the stopper or cork to the container was removed. In Britain, the word "pop" is used to describe carbonated beverages, in the  United States, the "pop" has been dropped, and the drinks are more commonly referred  to as "soda." The craze really took of in the recently independent American colonies,  and by 1807, bottled, flavored soda water was highly popular in the United States, the  young nation having access to literally millions of springs of fresh mineral waters. John Pemberton (1831-1888), an Atlanta pharmacist did not know what he was starting  with the invention of a caramel colored syrup in 1886. When diluted and carbonated, it  became Coca Cola. This soda was patented in 1893, and sold in every state by 1897.  Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, was the marketing genius who developed  this "tonic for all ailments." It originally contained cocaine from the coca leaf and was  rich in caffeine from the kola nut. The cocaine was removed in 1905. Robinson also  pioneered the idea, in 1899, of selling the Coca Cola syrup under license to bottlers and  soda water manufacturers around the state. That's how it arrived in Willimantic in 1916  when the Hosmer Mountain Bottling Company began manufacturing Coca Cola under  license at premises on Mountain Street.  The city of Willimantic was built in the Willimantic River valley, in an area containing  endless supplies of fresh, clean mountain spring water, one of the reasons why  settlements grew here in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After rapid growth and  urbanization after the Civil War, several companies were formed which took advantage  of the supplies of clean spring water. In 1883, Irishman Thomas Haran placed an ad in the Chronicle stating, “I hereby apply for a license to sell spirituous and intoxicating liquors at Mrs. Murphy's building, corner of Main and Washington streets in the borough of Willimantic in the Town of Windham.” The license was granted and in 1884, he began manufacturing soda from the local springs around Willirnantic, and went on to deal in ale and lager beer. Proof of his success lies  in the existence of the Haran block at 857 Main Street, Willimantic. Built in 1890, this fine brick structure was built to house Haran's bottling works and distribution center.(Today’s photo shows the Haran Block and Haran’s delivery wagon) Haran's specialty was the installation of soda fountains in towns around New England  Haran's  bottling company went out of business in 1896 and  he  sold the block to Timothy Sullivan who used it to house his automobile dealership and garage.  A Jewett City native John F. Hennessey, organized a grocery store in 1880, opposite  Recreation Park, at 187 Main Street. In 1884 he became a distributor for wines, ale and  beer, and in 1892 he opened a bottling and carbonated beverage plant on Valley Street.  Hennessey claimed to be a pioneer in the use of "liquefied gas" to “charge the waters,"  and produce a "purer, more tasteful and refreshing beverage." Hennessey died in 1901,  and the soda company ceased production. Michael Sullivan began bottling soda the  following year. He formed the Willimantic Bottling Company, located at 623 Main Street, and supplied eastern Connecticut with spring and soda water until his retirement in 1916.

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