HINTON, (Hinton News) – It is time for another edition of A Peek into Summers County’s Past. This week, we are talking about bottling and “spirits” companies in Hinton. William Jones, a collector of items from local history, shares information about pieces from his collection each week. This time, Jones has provided bottles from various companies that once operated in Hinton.
“Around the turn of the century, there were at least two liquor companies in Hinton, W.Va.,” Jones said. “One of which was The Union Liquor Company. It was owned and operated by J. A. Watkins on the lower section of 3rd Avenue. There is no record of it after prohibition started in 1920.”
Among the things in Jones’ collection is a miniature crock jug produced as an advertising piece for The Union Liquor Company. When talking about acquiring the bottle, he said, “As an advertising gimmick, miniature crock jugs were produced that read ‘Union Liquor Co. Hinton, W.Va.’ I knew about these for years and had always tried to find one to add to my ever-growing collection of historic Summers County pieces. I finally found one on Ebay about 10 years ago and purchased it from a gentleman in Virginia.”
According to Jones, the second liquor business in Hinton, from which he also has a bottle, was The West Virginia Liquor Company.
In regards to this piece, Jones said, “The other liquor company was The West Virginia Liquor Company located in Hinton. The two-and-a-half-gallon crock liquor jug in the photo was purchased in 1905 by my Great Great Grandparents, A.W. Knapp, and Mamie Hedrick Knapp when they caught the train in Hinton to go on their honeymoon. Great Grandma Knapp had saved it as a keepsake. She then gave it to my grandfather, her grandson Bernard Lee Thompson in 1968.”
“The brown liquor bottle is also from that company. I have never seen anything else from that company that has the name on it, except for this bottle. I purchased it when David Osborne closed his antique store, Marie Mercantile, in Marie, W.Va., in 2007 and sold the contents at auction.”
In addition to the two companies mentioned, multiple bottling businesses included other drinks, such as soda. Jones said, “In its day, Hinton had several successful bottling companies that also bottled soda. One of which is the bottle that is not your standard-shaped beverage bottle, The Christo Cola Bottling Co. It was a product of the Christian Brothers Company and later Christo Manufacturing Company of Richmond V.A. The bottling occurred in several towns in various states from VA, NC, SC, PA, OH, and Washington DC, but Hinton was the only one in the Mountain State.”
Next on the list is the West Virginia Carbonating Company, also in Hinton. Jones said, “Another early bottling company was the West Virginia Carbonating Company in Hinton. An ad in the Hinton Newspaper from 1904 says, ‘Manufacturers of Soda Pops, Seltzer & Phosphates of all kinds’ To name a few of the now uncommon things that this company bottled was Queen Soda, Root and Birch Beer, Peach Mellow, Lemon Sour, Iron Brew, RON-BRE and Celery Cola.”
The item up for discussion in this edition is the classic Coca-Cola bottle. Jones stated, “Last but not least is the standard Coca-Cola bottle. It is stamped on the bottom ‘Hinton W. Va.’ In its day it had quite a large production in Hinton. This is quite evident by the restored 17 ft by 60 ft Coca-Cola mural, dating from the early 1900s at the corner of 3rd avenue and Cardinal Way. These are just a fraction of the early companies that were once in Hinton.”
That’s it for this week. Check back next week for another edition of A Peek into Summers County’s Past, only available at Hinton News.
If you have an interesting story about Summers County’s past, we would love to hear it; send us an email to news@hintonnews.com.
