Henry Larsen
Hancock City Bottling Works

23 Nov 2021, last revised 10 Jul 2024

Henry Larsen's bottling works in Hancock was a continuation of the Sterling Spring Mineral Water Co. started by his father, Peter Larsen.

Henry Larsen was born in Feb 1874 (1) in Escanaba (10). He was a resident of Hancock on the 1900 U.S. Federal Census (1). He worked with his father at the Sterling Spring Mineral Water Co., being listed as manager in 1903 (2) and teamster in 1905 (3). He became manager of a South Range branch in 1905 (4), proprietor with Hans Johnson in Jan 1907 (5), and then sole proprietor in Jan 1911 (6).

One HENRY LARSEN bottle has a date code for 1912, so Henry evidently dropped the Sterling Spring name by then. The 1916 Polk directory listed Henry Larsen as a bottler under his name at 511 Hancock St. (7), the same address as for the Sterling Spring Mineral Water Co. He also had a branch in Calumet (7), with bottles specific to that branch (see H. Larsen & Co.).

Sanborn map - Aug 1917

The bottling works at 511 Hancock St. continued well into the ABM age. Henry Larsen was listed as a manufacturer and dealer in carbonated beverages in the 1921 directory (8). The 1927 and 1930 directories listed "Hancock City Bottling Co." for Henry Larsen (11,12). However, Henry had died on 08 Dec 1929 at the age of 54 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (10).

The 1939 directory showed that the "Hancock City Bottling Works" continued at the same 511 Hancock Ave. address under Aladino Nutini (9). The directory specified Kist Beverages and Wegener's Original Rock and Rye as franchised brands (9).

Aladino Joseph Nutini was born on 06 Oct 1910 in Trimountain (14) to immigrants from Italy (15). His family resided in Trimountain in 1920 (15) and had moved to Hancock by 1930 (16). He was listed as a sales manager in 1940 (17) and had 511 Hancock Ave. as the employment address on his World War II draft card (18). He was a resident of Detroit when he died on 28 Mar 1971 (19).

The bottling works was not listed in a 1947/1948 business directory (13), suggesting that it closed by then. The latest date code on an ABM bottle is 1940.

ABM soda label

Citations

1. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
2. R. L. Polk & Co. 1903. Houghton County Directory 1903-04. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
3. R. L. Polk & Co. 1905. Houghton County Directory 1905-06. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
4. anonymous. (1905, Mar 09). Pop firm at South Range. The Evening Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 7.
5. anonymous. (1907, Jan 23). Leases pop factory. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
6. anonymous. (1911, Jan 11). Partnership dissolved. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
7. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. Houghton County Directory 1916-17. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
8. R. L. Polk & Co. 1921. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1921-1922. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
9. R. L. Polk & Co. 1939. Polk’s Hancock (Michigan) Directory 1939. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
10. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
11. R. L. Polk & Co. 1927. Polk’s Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1927-1928. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
12. R. L. Polk & Co. 1930. Polk’s Hancock (Michigan) Directory 1930. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
13. The Daily Mining Gazette. 1947 or 1948. Copper Country Classified Business and Professional Directory. Houghton, MI.
14. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 (accessed on ancestry.com)
15. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
16. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
17. U.S. Census Bureau. 1940 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
18. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 (accessed on ancestry.com)
19. Michigan, U.S., Death Index, 1971-1996 (accessed on ancestry.com)