Vernors Ginger Ale 150th B-Day

[VernorsGuy]

April 3, 1867 Detroit Free Press.
Stearns Drug Store sells soda fountain equipment and syrups, wholesale, for making soda. This is where James Vernor worked before the Civil War. Makes sense he would know something about soda fountains and making soda pop.

 

[hemihampton]

Their was a Fred Sterns Manufacturing co also. They manufactured pharmacy, drugs, medicines ect, ect. It was a huge building & Factory not on Woodward. Could he have worked there? LEON.

 

[SODABOB]

Keith

Great stuff! Please post more - especially the original stuff like the fountain brochure. Speaking of which, I hope you don't mind that I uprighted some of your images. Not all members save them to their files and this way they can be read without tilting your head. I'm not sure what causes certain images to post sideways, but it occasionally happens with other members as well. I'll be back later with some stuff of my own, but for now will start with these uprighted images ...

 

[SODABOB]

April 3, 1867 Detroit Free Press.
Stearns Drug Store sells soda fountain equipment and syrups, wholesale, for making soda. This is where James Vernor worked before the Civil War. Makes sense he would know something about soda fountains and making soda pop.

Keith

Please correct me if you think I'm wrong, but I thought ...

1. That James Vernor worked for Higby & Stearns before the Civil War.

2. That the Stearns Drug Store in the 1867 newspaper was established later when Mr. Stearns opened his "wholesale" drug store that was not associated with Mr. Higby.

The following two items are related to this and hopefully will be of interest.

First up is this 1860 U.S. Census for Detroit, Michigan that shows James Vernor was employed as a "Clerk Drug Store" at the time and was 17 years old. Notice the Census was conducted on June 5, 1860. The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, so this should clearly establish that James Vernor was involved with the drug store trade at least a full year before the Civil War began. Even though the 1860 Census doesn't say which drug store James Vernor worked for, I'm pretty sure it was Higby & Stearns.





Notice it list the entire Vernor clan



Next up is this newspaper advertisement from ...

The Detroit Free Press ~ Detroit, Michigan ~ July 24, 1860

The ad was published about six weeks after the U.S. Census was conducted on June 5, 1860 and establishes that Higby & Stearns was in operation at the time. It also establishes that Higby & Stearns had a soda fountain. If James Vernor worked there at the time (which I believe he did) then it indicates he had at least some soda fountain exposure and was possibly even a soda fountain clerk, or should I say, soda fountain jerk. (Pun intended).

Please note I never said James Vernor didn't have any hands-on experience with soda fountains in his early years or later. But what I did say is that I cannot find any time-period documentation to confirm he actually had a full service soda fountain at his Woodward Avenue address prior to about 1880. I know there are numerous accounts that were published in the teens and 1920s that allude to his having a soda fountain as early as 1866-67-68, but I just can't find one that was actually published in 1866-67-68. Finding ads that use the words "Soda Fountain" in 1860s Detroit newspapers is easy and there are lots of them like the one attached here. The only problem is, they refer to other Detroit soda fountains such as Higby & Stearns, but not a single one for James Vernor. (That I can find).

By the way, "Catawba Syrup" was used for some type of grape drink.

 

[SODABOB]

Their was a Fred Sterns Manufacturing co also. They manufactured pharmacy, drugs, medicines ect, ect. It was a huge building & Factory not on Woodward. Could he have worked there? LEON.

Leon

I'm pretty sure, but not positive, that Frederick Stearns was one and the same of Higby & Stearns. Even though I haven't narrowed down the exact year yet, indications suggest he established his "wholesale" drug business around 1867 or 1868. There are also indications that he parted ways with Higby about the same time to establish his "wholesale" drug business.

Notice in this 1869 Detroit directory where it list Stearns, Frederick as a "Druggist, Wholesale." Also notice that it list Vernor J. & Co.

Note: The Vernor listing is carried over from page 84 of the directory where it had "Druggist, Retail" (which I did not save a picture of when I was subscribed to Ancestry.com, and is where I found it).

 

[iggyworf]

Kieth, welcome. I am glad to have another Michigander on the site. A lot of us like sluething about bottle history. I also love those bottles you posted. I don't have any of those. I didn't think this thread I started would get so much attention. I love it!

 

[SODABOB]

Hey, iggy

Wait until you see what I just found! It might open an entirely new discussion pertaining to ...

This!




(To be continued after I get my ducks in a row)

 

[iggyworf]

That's great Bob. Now start lining up those ducks! LOL. I have to catch up on this one also.

 

[hemihampton]

Interesting Bob. Here's a pic of the Frederick Stearns Pharmacy Co Inc. on my old 1800's Sanborn Maps. What's the relation if any to Vernor's? LEON.

 

[VernorsGuy]

Thought you would be interested in these extract bottles. Unfortunately, the two with paper labels have the 33 Woodward address. I was hoping the bottle style was older. There don't seem to be any markings - but if there's something I should look for, let me know. It looks like not much changed from the James Vernor Druggist bottle I posted earlier. However, Vernor was thrifty so he could have reused these for years and just put new labels on them. I assume all the extracts like these had paper labels at one time. The blue one is probably older because it doesn't have the 1906 Food and Drug act mentioned.