Antique Bottles of Lewistown, PA

Before the days of widespread Coke and Pepsi, independent local soda bottlers provided freshly-brewed carbonated drinks to the public. Almost all of these bottlers had their own proprietary-embossed bottles. When a person bought one of their drinks, they were legally only buying the beverage itself. The bottle remained the property of the bottler, and was to be returned for refilling when empty. Although the bottlers frowned upon the destruction or non-return of their bottles, there was not much they could do to enforce their bottle return policies other than to charge a small deposit on them. 

Lewistown had several local soda bottlers. 

Update, 9/28/09: Better pictures of the Wentz squat will be added soon. Also, I hope to eventually illustrate each of the numerous slug plate variations that are found on Lewistown Bottling Works tall blob and Hutchinson bottles.

Update, 10/18/09: I now have a Soult & Zerbe!

George W. Soult (1822-1882) and Henry Zerbe (1816-1876) formed a soda and mineral water bottling works in 1855. The exact location of the works is unknown, but it was probably located at 15 West Elizabeth Street, across from the Lewistown Foundry. Mr. Zerbe sold his share of the business in 1859 to pursue other ventures. Mr. Soult may have continued the business, either alone or with a new partner, but it likely dissolved in 1859 or very shortly afterwards. Soult & Zerbe is the only known trade name for the business.

George Washington Soult was a Lewistown native and a graduate of the Lewistown Academy. A distinguished veteran, he served in the Mexican War. After his involvement in the bottling works, he was a Union army officer during the Civil War. Mr. Soult was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863, but recovered and finished his tour of duty.

Henry Zerbe was born in Orwigsburg, PA. He was orphaned at a young age, and learned many trades on his own. Mr. Zerbe came to Lewistown in the late 1840s, and worked as a carriage builder and a Pennsylvania Canal boatman before forming the bottling works with Mr. Soult. He was a founding member of the Lewistown Water Company, and served as Mifflin County Treasurer in 1855. After retiring from the bottling business, he operated a successful mercantile establishment on East Market Street, Lewistown.

Soult and Zerbe bottles are very rare and desirable. Less than ten examples have been confirmed to exist. Embossed SOULT & ZERBE/ LEWISTOWN/ Pa, the bottles are 7 1/2 inches tall and green in color. They have a thick, applied lip and an iron pontil scar on the base, characteristic features of early soda bottles.

Here is a Soult & Zerbe bottle. This example has it all- rich green color, strong embossing and its full, original iron pontil. It took me three years to locate this bottle for my collection. I purchased this bottle in an online auction in October, 2009.

A closer look showing the embossing. The "A" in PA is very small, raised and underlined.

This is the iron pontil scar on the base of the bottle. Also known as an improved pontil, this scar contains residue from the solid iron rod that was used to hold the bottle in place during manufacture.

 This is my other Soult & Zerbe, which sadly did not survive very well. This one is still special since I dug it myself in July, 2007.

Civil War veteran Frank H. Wentz (1834-1917) established a soda bottling works in the alley behind his home on West Third Street sometime between 1880 and 1885. Prior to entering the bottling business, he had been a cabinet maker. Mr Wentz's beverages were very popular with the local residents, having a reputation for pure ingredients and good flavor. Known as "The Pop Man", Mr. Wentz was well-known and well-liked around town. He continued bottling until his death in 1917 at the age of 83.

Mr. Wentz used Hutchinson spring-stoppered bottles for his products, and later switched to the modern crown-cap bottles in the 1900s. His very first bottles were pony sodas, which are discussed below. Most of his Hutchinson bottles are fairly common, with the notable exception of the early F.H. WENTZ/ BOTTLER/ LEWISTOWN/ PA Hutchinson bottle with a tombstone-shaped slug plate.

 UPDATE 3/1/09: A squat pony-style Wentz bottle has been discovered. This was almost certainly Frank H. Wentz's first style of bottle. This bottle is 7" high, aqua, embossed in a round slug plate: F.H. WENTZ/ LEWISTOWN, PA.

These later pony soda bottles have a shorter neck and broader shoulder than their earlier counterparts. They lack the iron pontil scar, which was discontinued in the early 1860s with the advent of improved manufacturing methods. Like many of its type, this bottle used a "lightning" stopper with a wire bail and porcelain cap in place of the simple cork used on older types.

This unique F.H. Wentz pony dates in the 1880s.

In addition to beer, ale and porter, Charles Roper's Lewistown Bottling Works also bottled soda. Like those of Frank Wentz, the early examples were Hutchinson spring-stoppered bottles. The early beer bottles were of the tall blob top type, with the Hutchinson bottles likely used for sodas only. The old tall blob tops and Hutchinson bottles of Lewistown Bottling Works were both later replaced by crown-cap bottles.

C.H. Harshbarger (1875-1960) operated a bottling works on West Market Street around 1910-1920. Despite their more recent age, the Harshbarger soda bottles are quite scarce. Two variants are known to exist, both being of the crown-cap type.

Not much is known about F. Hayes White. His bottles are crown-cap, and date around the 1920s. They are not plentiful, but can be found occasionally.

Also pictured is a Miller Bottling Works bottle. Established in the 1920s on Electric Avenue, Miller Bottling Works was later acquired by Wible Bottling Co. of Three Springs, PA. The Electric Avenue bottling plant closed in the 1960s. The building is now Harry F. Stimely Electrical Co. 

Reuben S. (Rube) Ullrich established the Lewistown Coca-Cola Bottling Works around 1915-1919. The bottling works was located at 36 West Market Street, and was the first Coca-Cola franchise in Lewistown. Rube's son, Norman, also helped operate the works and later became the sole proprietor. The Ullrich works was replaced by a new, modern Coke plant on West Fourth Street in the 1940s. The old Ullrich works is now occupied by Michael's Appliance store.

The Ullrich Coke works used a large variety of crown-cap bottles. One of the most interesting is a large, 24-ounce clear bottle embossed: RUBE ULLRICH/ BOTTLED/ BEVERAGES/ REGISTERED/ LEWISTOWN, PA (pictured below).

Many soda bottles of the 1920s-30s era with LEWISTOWN, PA embossed on the base were products of the Ullrich works. Their bottled brands included Coca-Cola, Hires root beer, Whistle, Vess Dry, Blue Bird, Lemonella and Good Grape. There is also a special Coke "flavor bottle", which was used for a variety of custom flavored sodas. One of the most desirable Lewistown soda bottles from this era is the original "hobbleskirt" Coke bottle with the Nov. 16, 1915 patent date. There are also Lewistown "Christmas Cokes" with a patent date of Dec. 25, 1923.

The earliest bottle that I have been able to attribute to the Ullrich works is a Nov. 16, 1915 Patent Coke that was manufactured in 1919. Other date codes that I have seen on Ullrich's bottles include 1921, 1922, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1936 and 1937. Date codes give the actual year in which a particular bottle was manufactured, while patent dates denote only when a bottle design was patented. The Nov. 16, 1915 patent Coke bottles were made until 1927, while the Dec. 25, 1923 "Christmas Cokes" can date as late as 1938.The "flavor bottle" sometimes has a patent date of Nov. 6, 1923.