Houghton Bottling Works

09 Nov 2021, last revised 10 May 2026

The Houghton Bottling Works, with Charles Nikula as proprietor, was a continuation of J. A. Cochran's pop factory.

Charles Nikula was born in Finland on 13 Dec 1874 (1) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1892 (2) when he was 18 years old (3). He spent a short time in Oscoda, MI before moving to the lumber camps of Louisiana (3). He moved to Negaunee and worked for four years as a miner (3), which is where the 1900 U.S. Federal Census placed him (4). He then became a bottler, sold the business after three years, and then operated a bottling works in Hurley, WI for six years (3). In 1909 (3), Nikula purchased the Union Bottling Works in Ironwood, MI in partnership with Otto Kauppi (3,5). Nikula was a resident of Vaughn, WI during the 1910 U.S. Federal Census (2), and then he was a resident of Ironwood when he registered for the World War I draft in Sep 1918 (6). Nikula sold his share of the Union Bottling Works to Kauppi in Feb 1919 (7). In May 1921, Nikula advertised being the owner of the Crystal Spring Beverage Co. in Ironwood (8).

After inspecting "various cities for their possibilities for the bottling business", Nikula "came to Houghton" (3) and purchased Cochran's pop factory in Mar 1922 (9,10). The 1927 and 1930 directories listed Charles Nikula as proprietor of the "Houghton Bottling Works" (14,30). This bottling works name appears to have originated with Nikula, since we could not find any evidence that Cochran used it during his time as proprietor.

An ad from Jul 1922 indicates that Nikula continued to manufacture Cochran's famous ginger ale. In Jun 1934, Nikula introduced a highly carbonated water known as Huron Springs Sparkling Water to be used in mixed drinks and bottled it "in new bottles of attractive design" (11). Such a bottle has not been discovered. An ad from 1934 indicates that Nikula bottled franchised brands, including 7-Up, Coca-Cola, Mission Orange, and Virginia Dare Ginger Ale. He also bottled Nu Grape, as indicated by the bottle embossed with HOUGHTON / MICH.

Newspaper ad - Jul 1922

Newspaper ad - Dec 1934

The 1927 Michigan State Polk directory listed the bottling works on "Lake St at the Hancock bridge" (12). The 1930 Polk directory specified the address as 41 Dacotah St. (13), which is now called Bridge St. This appears to be the same location, which was immediately east of the bridge, and the same location Cochran occupied.

Charles Nikula died on 14 Jul 1939 at the age of 64 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (1). Nikula's obituary stated that he conducted the bottling works continuously ever since he purchased it from Cochran (14). The 1939 directory (15) indicates that his family ran the business after his death; with his wife Ida listed as a widow, his son (2) Carl Nikula listed as manager, his daughter (16) Helen Nikula listed as stenographer, and his son (16) Wayne Nikula listed as bottler.

A 1947/1948 business directory listed the Seven-Up Bottling Co. in Houghton at 13 N. Bridge St., which advertised 7-Up and Nesbitt's Orange (17). Given that it had the same location and phone number, it evidently was the same bottling works. The 1957 phonebook started to list both the Seven-Up Bottling Co. and the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. at the same location (13 N. Bridge St.) with the same phone number (160) (18). The 1966 phonebook listed the Seven-Up Bottling Co., the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co., and the Houghton Bottling Co. Inc. at the same location with the same phone number (482-0161) (19). The 1968 phonebook started to list only the Houghton Bottling Co. Inc. but noted it was a distributor for Seven-Up, Doctor Pepper, Pepsi Cola, and Nesbitt (20). The 1978 phonebook listed only the Seven-Up Bottling Co. (21). The company was the Houghton Bottling Co. Inc. in the 1981 phonebook (22). The address changed to 309 Sharon Ave. in the 1986 phonebook (23). The name changed to Pepsi-Cola of Houghton in the 1991 phonebook (24).

Today, the company is the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Houghton, Inc. with the same Sharon Ave. address and the same phone number (25). It is unknown when the company transitioned from being a bottler to being a distributor. The latest bottle is a 7-Up bottle from 1959, indicating that the company bottled at least until then.

Citations

1. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
2. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
3. Fuller, G. N. 1926. Historic Michigan: Land of the Great Lakes, Vol. III - A History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. National Historical Association, Inc.
4. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
5. anonymous. (1941, Dec 31). Otto Kauppi. The Ironwood Times (Ironwood, MI). p. 1.
6. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (accessed on ancestry.com)
7. anonymous. (1919, Feb 13). Union Bottling Works ad. Auttaja (Ironwood, MI). p. 8.
8. anonymous. (1921, May 12). Crystal Spring Beverage Co. ad. Auttaja (Ironwood, MI). p. 8.
9. anonymous. (1922, Mar 31). Cochran sells out his pop factory. The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
10. anonymous. (1922, Mar 23). Buys Cochran pop factory. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 2.
11. anonymous. (1934, Jun 26). Houghton Bottling Works creates new carbonated product. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 10.
12. R. L. Polk & Co. 1927. Polk’s Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1927-1928. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
13. R. L. Polk & Co. 1930. Polk’s Houghton (Michigan) Directory 1930. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
14. anonymous. (1939, Jul 15). Charles Nikula, well known business man of Houghton, passes. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 10.
15. R. L. Polk & Co. 1939. Polk’s Houghton (Michigan) Directory 1939. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
16. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
17. The Daily Mining Gazette. 1947 or 1948. Copper Country Classified Business and Professional Directory. Houghton, MI.
18. Michigan Bell Telephone Company. October 1957. Telephone Directory. Houghton-Hancock, Calumet-Laurium, Lake Linden-Hubbell.
19. Michigan Bell Telephone Company. December 1966. Michigan Bell Telephone Directory for Houghton-Keweenaw Counties.
20. Michigan Bell Telephone Company. December 1968. Michigan Bell Telephone Directory for Houghton-Keweenaw Counties.
21. Michigan Bell. December 1978. Houghton-Keweenaw Counties. Telephone Directory.
22. Michigan Bell. December 1981. Houghton-Keweenaw Counties. Telephone Directory.
23. Michigan Bell. December 1986. Ameritech PagesPlus. Houghton-Keweenaw Counties. White/Yellow Pages.
24. Michigan Bell. December 1991. Ameritech PagesPlus. Houghton/Keweenaw Counties and Surrounding Areas. White/Yellow Pages.
25. Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce. accessed May 2026. Pepsi Colo Bottling Company of Houghton, Inc. business.keweenaw.org/list/member/pepsi-cola-bottling-company-of-houghton-inc-houghton-285