Lake Linden Bottling Works

25 Jun 2022, last revised 17 Feb 2024

Lake Linden Bottling Works was first listed by name in the 1901 Polk directory with Dominick W. Sutter as proprietor (1). However, the C. C. G. CO. mark of the Cream City Glass Co. on bottle #73 should date no later than 1894 (2). The 1895 directory listed C. A. Pearce & Co. consisting of Charles A. Pearce and Jacob M. Slonaker as having a bottling works in Lake Linden on Hecla St. (3), but it did not specify the name of their bottling works. Were they the first proprietors of the Lake Linden Bottling Works or did they operate a different bottling works? We turn to old newspapers to find out.

In Jul 1894, the "Lake Linden Bottling Co." commenced manufacturing pop in Trathen's building on Center St. (4). This start date aligns with the first bottle, but unfortunately, the article did not identify the proprietor(s). The breakthrough came with an article from Dec 1894 that specified C. A. Pearce & Co. as proprietors of the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" (5). They were making a special line of soda and mineral waters for the holidays and recommended their raspberry wine (5).

Charles A. Pearce was born 30 Jan 1865 (11) in England (12) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1872 (14) or 1880 (13). In 1880, at the age of 16, he was living with his brother in Hancock (15). He was a teamster and resident of Lake Linden when he married Rosa Aubin on 15 Apr 1890 (16).

Jacob M. Slonaker was born on 27 Apr 1868 in Houghton (17). He was a butcher and resident of Lake Linden when he married Maggie Pope on 27 Sep 1893 (16).

Business seemed to be growing, since in Mar 1895, the company purchased a lot and barn from J. S. Slonaker, Jacob's father (10), and were building an addition to the barn for pop manufacturing (6). By May 1895, the Lake Linden Bottling Works had moved to Hecla St. (7), the location specified in the 1895 Polk directory (3). They were now producing the Beaver Brand ginger ale and certified its bottles with the signature of C. A. Pearce & Co. (7).

On 11 Oct 1895, C. A. Pearce & Co. dissolved and J. M. Slonaker carried on the business (8). The 1897 and 1899 directories then listed Jacob M. Slonaker as a soda water manufacturer on Hecla St. north of 2nd St. (9). Pearce then represented the Bosch Brewing Co. at their Ishpeming branch (38,39).

After Bosch sold the Ishpeming branch to "an iron country brewing concern", Pearce and his family moved back to Lake Linden in Aug 1899, where he took a position with Bosch (40). In Dec 1899, Pearce purchased the pop factory from Slonaker and severed his connection with Bosch so he could devote his entire time to the newly acquired business (41). Shortly after, however, in Mar 1900, Pearce offered his pop and bottling works for sale (18,43). But in May 1900, Pearce received new machinery for the bottling works (49), and in Dec 1900, he requested orders of soda water or pop ahead of the holidays (19), indicating that he was still running the business.

The 1901 directory then listed Dominick W. Sutter as proprietor of the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" (1), so evidently, the business was eventually sold. In May 1901, Richard Harvey, son of R. T. Harvey (20) of Calumet Bottling Works, started to manage the bottling works (44). In Oct 1901, Sutter announced plans to move the bottling works to his home "across the lake" (45), and by Nov 1901, the move was nearly completed (46). The bottling machine would be run by steam in the future, and spring water drawn up by a wind wheel would be used to manufacture the soda (46). T. H. Rule & Bro. was selling birch and root beer by the case in Dec 1901 (21), and then in Feb 1902, was taking orders for the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" (22). Thomas H. Rule and Joseph Rule were grocers (1), so they probably served as distributors. In Mar 1902, the bottling works advertised at least some of its flavors: Sarsaparilla, Birch Beer, Cupric Water, and Chocolate Cream (23).

In Oct 1902, D. W. Sutter sold the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" to Arsen Piche, "who will operate the factory for the manufacture of all kinds of soft drinks" (42). In Apr 1903, the bottling works was selling a single express for furniture or laundry and a canopy top surrey, and offered potato ground for rent (24). The Lake Linden Bottling Works was then not listed in the Polk directory for 1903 and 1905 (25,26), suggesting that it had closed, but apparently it did not. It is unknown how D. W. Sutter was the owner again, but in Nov 1905, Sutter sold the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" to Fred Keppler, who would "conduct the business himself in the future" (47) and would "devote his entire time to the work" (48). Samuel Piche would still manufacture the soda as he had done for several years (48), indicating that the business was operational when it was sold. The machinery was moved to Keppler's home where the plant would be located (48). It seems the bottling works did not last much longer, since the 1907 directory listed Frederick Keppler as a laborer and did not list the Lake Linden Bottling Works (27).

This was not the end of the Lake Linden Bottling Works name, as it re-appeared in later years for different operations. Deno E. St. Amour had a pop manufacturing business in Lake Linden and sold it to Joseph LePage and Alex Hardy in Oct 1909 (28). In Dec 1909, LePage became the sole owner of the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" (29). It is unknown whether or not St. Amour was the one that resurrected this business name. The address of this business is also unknown. In Dec 1910, the Mountain Valley Water Co. purchased the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" (30), which Martin Gries was operating for the last few months (37). This marked the end of the second business to use this name.

The Mountain Valley Water Co. closed in Spring 1915, and then in Oct 1915, D. W. Sutter purchased the factory equipment from Dr. G. W. Orr and leased the property on which the factory resided (31). The 1916 directory then listed the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" on Calumet St. near Center St. with Edwin Warren as manager and Dominick W. Sutter as bottler (32). The 1917 Sanborn map shows the bottling works on the east side of the street, between 4th St. (now 3rd St.) and Center St. (now 4th St.).

The bottling works had only two employees in 1916 (33), one in 1917 (34), and three in 1918 (35). It is unknown when it closed, but it was not listed in the 1921 directory (36).

The history shows that the "Lake Linden Bottling Works" existed as three iterations. This explains the perplexing pattern we see with the bottles. The two Hutchinson bottles align with the first iteration. Then after a 15-year period of no bottles, we find two ABM bottles bearing this name. Date codes on these bottles align them with the third iteration. Bottles that align with the second iteration bear embossing for D. E. St. Amour instead of the bottling works name.

References

1. R. L. Polk & Co. 1901. Houghton County Directory 1901-02. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
2. Lockhart, B., B. Schriever, B. Lindsey, and C. Serr. 2014. A marked coincidence: The CCGCo logo of the Colorado City Glass Co. and Cream City Glass Co. Part 2 - Cream City Glass Co. In: Encyclopedia of Manufacturer's Marks on Historic Bottles. posted on Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website. https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/CreamCity.pdf
3. R. L. Polk & Co. 1895. Houghton County Directory 1895-96. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
4. anonymous. (1894, Jul 31). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
5. anonymous. (1894, Dec 11). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
6. anonymous. (1895, Mar 12). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
7. anonymous. (1895, May 14). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
8. anonymous. (1895. Oct 15). Dissolution Notice. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
9. R. L. Polk & Co. 1897. Houghton County Directory 1897-98. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
10. anonymous. (1895, Apr 09). Another Pioneer Gone. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
11. Find A Grave. accessed Jun 2022. Charles A. Pearce. www.findagrave.com/memorial/121351841/charles-a-pearce
12. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
13. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
14. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
15. U.S. Census Bureau. 1880 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
16. Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952 (accessed on ancestry.com).
17. Michigan, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1867-1911 (accessed on ancestry.com).
18. anonymous. (1900, Mar 13). For Sale. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
19. anonymous. (1900, Dec 11). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
20. anonymous. (1901, May 14). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
21. anonymous. (1901, Dec 24). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
22. anonymous. (1902, Feb 11). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
23. anonymous. (1902, Mar 18). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
24. anonymous. (1903, Apr 21). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 1.
25. R. L. Polk & Co. 1903. Houghton County Directory 1903-04. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
26. R. L. Polk & Co. 1905. Houghton County Directory 1905-06. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
27. R. L. Polk & Co. 1907. Houghton County Directory 1907-08. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
28. anonymous. (1909, Oct 28). New Pop Manufacturers. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 12.
29. anonymous. (1909, Dec 14). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 1.
30. anonymous. (1910, Dec 20). untitled. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 1.
31. anonymous. (1915, Oct 05). Plant to Resume Operations. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 7.
32. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. Houghton County Directory 1916-17. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
33. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1917. Thirty-Fourth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
34. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1918. Thirty-Fifth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
35. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1919. Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Fort Wayne Printing Co. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
36. R. L. Polk & Co. 1921. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1921-1922. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
37. anonymous. (1910, Dec 11). Pop Company Sold. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 12.
38. anonymous. (1896, Nov 17). Personals. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
39. anonymous. (1897, Jul 27). Personals. The Native Copper Times (Lake Linden, MI). p. 3.
40. anonymous. (1899, Aug 15). Lake Linden News. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 5.
41. anonymous. (1899, Dec 16). Pop Business Sold. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 7.
42. anonymous. (1902, Oct 22). Bottling Works Changes Hands. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 7.
43. anonymous. (1900, Mar 06). Lake Linden News. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 4.
44. anonymous. (1901, May 09). Local Briefs. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 5.
45. anonymous. (1901, Oct 11). New Bottling Works. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 7.
46. anonymous. (1901. Nov 07). Bottling Works is Nearing Completion Across the Lake. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 7.
47. anonymous. (1905, Nov 25). Brevities. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
48. anonymous. (1905, Nov 25). Business Changes Hands. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 15.
49. anonymous. (1900, May 16). Brief Notes from the Lake Lindens. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 7.