J. A. Cochran

09 Nov 2021, last revised 10 May 2026

J. A. Cochran, having bottles from both Baraga and Houghton, poses several questions. Where did he start his business, when did he move, and why did he move?

John A. Cochran was born in Feb 1869 (1) in Port Huron, MI (2). His father immigrated from either Scotland (2,3,4) or Canada (1,5) and his mother immigrated from either Scotland (4) or Canada (1,3,5). He was a resident of Marquette when he was married on 04 Oct 1892 (6). Cochran's obituary stated that he "went to Baraga as a young man" (7).

Start in Baraga

The newspaper reported on 16 May 1896 that Cochran & Co. was expected to start manufacturing soft drinks "by the first of the week" (8). They operated in the basement of the Byers building (8). The firm J. A. Cochran & Co. consisted of John A. Cochran and Adolph A. Pinet (9,10). One known bottle bears this firm name. They were noted to be "doing a good business" in Jul 1896 (9). After four years, the partnership dissolved on 02 Jun 1900 (10) with Cochran purchasing Pinet's interest and becoming sole proprietor (11).

Newspaper ad - May 1896

Newspaper ad - Jul 1900

In addition to soda, Cochran apparently bottled local mineral water. When driving a pipe for a well 12 miles west of Baraga, M. Pelkey struck a vein of mineral water (12). It was said to possess medicinal qualities, and its sale was placed with Cochran in 1903 (12).

In May 1905, when Cochran had his left hand badly lacerated by the bursting of a pop bottle, the business was referred to as the "Baraga Bottling Works" (13). In Sep 1906, Cochran installed new machinery, enabling his bottling works to be operated by water motor (14). It was stated that, "Mr. Cochran now has an up-to-date establishment and is enabled to cope with his large and constantly increasing trade." (14). The 1907 Michigan State Polk directory listed Cochran as village treasurer and manufacturer of ginger ale, pop, Cleveland Cider Co.'s apple cider, and all kinds of carbonated beverages (15). In Jan 1908, he renovated his pop factory with a new wash tank and other new machinery (16).

Move to Houghton

In May 1908, Cochran announced that he would be moving to Houghton on or about Jun 01 (17). The plan was for him to manufacture in Houghton and retain the Baraga location as a distribution station (17). The intent of the move was to help him meet the rapidly increasing demand for his products in the wider Copper Country (17). Cochran opened the Houghton factory on 13 Jun 1908 and announced that he would be ready to serve the trade on the following Monday (18). In addition to his signature products, Cochran advertised that he was a bottler of Coca Cola.

Newspaper ad - Dec 1908

Newspaper ad - Dec 1908

Cochran's Houghton factory resided in the Karkeek building near the "county bridge" (17). The 1912 directory specified the address as 160 Lake (now called Lakeshore Dr.) at the corner with Dakotah St. (now called Bridge St.) and stated that he was a "bottler of the famous Cochran's ginger ale and other carbonated beverages" (19). It seems his ginger ale was his signature product.

Sanborn map - Nov 1917

In Jan 1912, soft drink manufacturers of Michigan held a meeting in Lansing and formed the Michigan Soda Bottlers' Association and Cochran was appointed vice president (20). The pop manufacturers organized "for mutual protection and to assist each other in the enforcement of the pure food laws" (20). They wanted to ensure that empty bottles were returned to their proper owners and that "an unprincipled dealer may not sell adulterated products under another's label" (20).

Cochran continued to bottle into the ABM period. The bottling works had five employees in 1909 (21), up to 11 in 1917 (22), and down to seven in 1918 and 1919 (23,24).

Magazine ad - Mar 1916

In Mar 1922, Cochran sold the pop factory to Charles Nikula of Ironwood (25,26). Cochran retired from the pop business to focus on the auto trunk industry (26). The U.S. Federal Census recorded Cochran as a dealer of trucks in 1930 (5) and a garage owner in 1940 (27). John Cochran died in Houghton on 30 Nov 1948 at the age of 79 (7,28) and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (29).

We can only wonder how superb was Cochran's ginger ale. At least we have his surviving bottles to cherish.

Citations

1. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
2. U.S. Census Bureau. 1870 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
3. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
4. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
5. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
6. Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952 (accessed on ancestry.com).
7. anonymous. (1948, Dec 02). John A. Cochran, widely known resident, dies. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 16.
8. anonymous. (1896, May 16). Additional Baraga News. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
9. anonymous. (1896, Jul 11). Baraga department. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
10. anonymous. (1900, Jul 07). Dissolution of partnership. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
11. anonymous. (1900, Jun 30). Baraga department. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
12. anonymous. (1903, Jun 20). Baraga department. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
13. anonymous. (1905, May 27). Baraga department. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
14. anonymous. (1906, Sep 29). Baraga department. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
15. R. L. Polk & Co. 1907. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1907-1908. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
16. anonymous. (1908, Jan 18). Baraga department. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
17. anonymous. (1908, May 23). Will remove to Houghton. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 5.
18. anonymous. (1908, Jun 13). New pop factory opened. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
19. R. L. Polk & Co. 1912. 1912 Calumet, Hancock, Houghton and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
20. anonymous. (1912, Jan 29). Houghton man honored. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
21. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1910. First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1920. Thirty-Seventh Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
25. anonymous. (1922, Mar 31). Cochran sells out his pop factory. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
26. anonymous. (1922, Mar 23). Buys Cochran pop factory. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 2.
27. U.S. Census Bureau. 1940 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
28. Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFST-TPJ : Fri Jul 12 02:11:53 UTC 2024), Entry for John D Cochran and Alex Cochran, 30 Nov 1948.
29. Find a Grave. accessed on Nov 2021. John A Cochran. findagrave.com/memorial/197507511/john-a-cochran