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| Taken from the Liverpool Advance in 1889. |
When you open a bottle of Pepsi or other flavors of pop, have you ever thought about how long Soda Pop has been around? Well, at one time, Queens County had it's own pop producer. Milton Aerated Water Works was located on the West Side of Milton on the property owned today by Aubrey and Diane Coombs. It opened around 1889 by brothers Samuel T. Kempton (1848-1910) and Stephen H. Kempton (1855-1922) and remained in operation until 1926. They produced soda, tonic, mineral waters and other aerated and carbonated beverages. In 1891 they began making soda pop with flavors such as Orange, Lemonade, Coffee Cream Soda, Blood Strawberry, Birch Beer, WineO, and Crab Apple Tonic just to name a few. The most unusual thing about Milton Aerated Water Works was the bottles that the pop was in. It was called a Codd Stopper Bottle. It had a marble in it which was tight against the opening of the bottle, a small, round opener would "break the seal" and the marble would get pushed into the neck. The bad thing about this is that the kids would break the bottles to get the marbles to play with. Also you could return the bottles for a refund which was totally unheard of back in those times. The bottles were fairly expensive to produce so reusing them was very cost effective. My grandmother was one of those "kids" who smashed the bottles to get the marbles and I heard her stories about it many times. The building that housed Milton Aerated Water Works was demolished in 1931. Today the bottles are very collectible, the last I heard is a bottle was valued at about $200 each. I'm lucky to have collected a few of them and also purchased an opener on ebay a few years ago. |
| Advertisement from Milton Aerated Water Works |
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| Labels from Milton Aerated Water Works showing many flavors |
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| The only known invoice from Milton Aerated Water Works in 1922. I own the original. |
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| Codd Stopper Bottle from Milton Aerated Water Works |
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| One of my Milton Aerated Water Works Bottles with an opener |
So the marble was held with wax? Did it sink after pushing it down with that opener? That is way cool
ReplyDeleteIt stayed into the neck of the bottle. The neck was smaller on the bottom so it didn't go down in the bottle. If you look at my pictures you can see the marble.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Randy and i have one of the Milton Aerated bottles with the marble that i would like to sell if interested please call me at 902-356-2445
DeleteMy mother was a kempton from milton
ReplyDeleteMy Grandfather and two great uncles owned the bottle company. My Fathers name was Samuel Thomas Kempton, named after his uncle Captain Samuel Thomas Kempton. I grew up with the stories my father would tell about his working at the bottle company etc. I have a couple of the bottles plus some labels. Gloria Kempton
ReplyDeleteMy mother father was Fred kempton from school lane , her name is Jean falic
DeleteI think they are connected to thaddeus kempton
DeleteYes, Fred was also a brother to Thaddeus Kempton. Fred died fairly young and his wife (Jennie) was married a second time to Hector McNutt who owned a farm up on School Street in Milton. Jennie had two children that I know of - Robert Kempton and Jean Fralic and perhaps more, that I don't know about. Hope this answers your question! :)
Deletea few of these bottles have washed up on the shores of the legendary oak island!!!... that's how I got mine!!!...XD Lol :)
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ on some of your info. A creek used to run by Ashley Legges grandparents house that used to feed the Water Works. The creek used to run into the mersey by the little peninsula. I personally have dug out bottles in the mud and in alcove just on the river side of the road. Not sure how that compares to your info..
ReplyDeleteSo cool! My grandmother has one bottle and labels. She is the granddaughter of Stephen Kempton and daughter of Fred Kempton. I’d love to buy one if anyone has one to sell.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother is Jean Fralic she is 95 now! There weren't many of the bottles left as everyone broke them for the marbles!
ReplyDeleteI remember as a teenager (63 years old now) when we would dig along the river bank right at the roadside by the peninsula looking for the bottles. Never found any, but there was a ton of glass and we found a bunch of the marbles.
ReplyDeleteI've purchased a few bottles over the last few years and $150 is a decent price. I've paid on average about $100 per bottle.
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I am the Granddaughter of Stephen Kempton and daughter of Samuel Thomas Kempton. I have a few of the original bottles, and gave one each to my two sisters and one to my daughter. I also have several of the labels. My dad used to tell of when he worked at the plant as a teenager.
ReplyDelete