PENCE SPRINGS W.Va. (Hinton News) – This piece is somewhat short compared to the others I have written, but the subject matter is too good not to tell about its history. Most people who could remember the large water bottle that once sat beside the spring at Pence Springs have since passed. Andrew Pence had this extraordinarily massive replica built of the bottle he used at the time to sell his Pence Springs Water.
He then shipped the enormous bottle to St. Louis to advertise and sell his water while it competed in the World’s Fair in 1904. He gave out little bottle openers as an advertising gimmick. I have one I purchased off of eBay about 15 years ago. They read simply, “Pence Springs Water and Ginger Ale.”
His water ended up taking the silver medal at this internationally recognized event. The first photo was taken while the bottle was being built before the label paint job was finished. The second photo is of it after it had been brought back from St. Lewis by train and placed to the left of the spring.
The little girl to the right of the little concrete bridge is Pence Springs resident Lornie Garten Cales. She is about seven years old in this photo. This concrete bridge is still standing and is used at The Pence Springs Flea Market today. It was built around the turn of the century. Having been constructed of concrete was highly unusual at the time, but it has lasted nearly 120 years.
Notice the two square areas to the left and right from where it says, “Pale Dry.” These were two windows used for workers to sell the water and ginger ale made from Pence Springs Water at the fair. The ad included here is from the early 1900s. The water and even the ginger ale were advertised as being healthy due to the medicinal properties of the water. Notice it says, “All Smiles Because it’s Healthy.”
The spring at one time had glass windows between the arches. This was done to close the spring during the days when the water was bottled and sold around the country. It was built in the 1880s. These walls were added sometime in the 1910s and stayed in that state until it was restored in the 1970s.
Did you know about the sizeable Pence Springs water bottle? Let us know!
If you have information from Summers County’s history to share, email us at news@hintonnews.com.
