Vernors Ginger Ale 150th B-Day

[SODAPOPBOB]

Leon

The skyscraper I posted is a Google Earth result when I searched 235 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan.

According to every historical account I have seen, Vernor's original drug store is described as being located at either ...

1. 235 Woodward Avenue

or ...

2. Corner of Woodward and Clifford

Of course, their were also later locations, such as ...

33 Woodward Ave

... which is where Vernor moved to around 1896.

According to the Detroit Historical Society, this picture is dated circa 1900

Note: Click at the bottom where it shows Full Data

http://detroiths.pastperfect-online.com/33029cgi/mweb.exe?request=image;hex=2011036157.JPG

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S.

33 Woodward Avenue is where James Vernor first bottled his ginger ale around 1896

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Example of Woodward and Clifford ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Note: I'm starting to do exactly what I did not intend, and that's to try and place every piece of the Vernor's puzzle together, when what I really had in mind was to only focus on two primary aspects, which are ...

1. The 1866 date.
2. The 219 and 235 Woodward Avenue addresses.

So with that said, I'm going back to my original plan and only focus on those two basic aspects. I will leave it for others to try and figure out the rest of it, such as where James Vernor moved to and when, which is just as, if not more confusing than his early years between about 1866 and 1870.

Which brings us to this advertisement from ...

The Detroit Free Press ~ April 7, 1868



Notice:

1. Vernor & L'Hommedieu
2. 219 Woodward Avenue

3. Where it says ...

"Been in use but ten days"

This is a pretty vague reference connecting Vernor & L'Hommedieu with anything "soda fountain" related, but because it indicates the fountain was "used," it leads me to suspect they used it to dispense ginger ale, and possibly other fountain beverages.

Here's what I found regarding "Arctic Soda Fountains." (Of course there were other Arctic models, and I can't say for certain which model was being sold by Vernor & L'Hommedieu in the 1868 ad).

http://www.hagley.org/librarynews/quenching-thirst-knowledge-about-soda-water

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Question(s):

I wonder why they used the Arctic Fountain for only ten days? Was it not what they expected it to be? And did they replace it with something else? And was it their first soda fountain apparatus?

Answer:

We may never know!

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

As it stands now ...

1. I'm okay with the claims that state James Vernor established a drug store in 1866

2. I'm not okay with the claims that state James Vernor established a drug store by himself in 1866

3. I'm not okay with the claims that state James Vernor's first drug store was located at 235 Woodward Avenue

4. I'm not okay with the claims that state Vernor's Ginger Ale was first served at 235 Woodward Avenue in 1866

As it stands now ...

1. It appears to me that the 1866 drug store was a partnership enterprise between James Vernor and Charles L'Hommedieu

2. It appears to me that the original drug store was located at 219 Woodward Avenue and not 235 Woodward Avenue

3. It appears to me that Vernor's Ginger Ale was first served in 1868 and not 1866

4. It appears to me that Vernor's Ginger Ale was first served at 219 Woodward Avenue and not 235 Woodward Avenue

(To be continued)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S.

I take back what I said earlier about Charles L'Hommedieu possibly not being associated with James Vernor when Vernor developed his ginger ale. The April 7, 1868 advertisement about selling the Arctic fountain apparatus now leads me to suspect that Charles L'Hommedieu was involved with "some type" of fountain service at 219 Woodward Avenue. Remember, the partnership between Vernor and L'Hommedieu was not officially dissolved until December 7, 1868 ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Advanced reading where you will find (in part) ...

http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/servlet/org.oclc.lac.ui.DialABookServlet?oclcnum=52623519


Two legends have been passed down about the origin of Vernor's Ginger Ale. In the first, James Vernor is said to have developed the first batch while working at Higby and Stearn's, storing it in a small oak keg where it brewed while he served in the Union Army. Returning four years later, he discovered his drink had matured to that "deliciously different" flavor. In the other version, Vernor carried the idea in his head throughout the war and first brewed the formula after returning to Detroit and establishing his own drugstore.

The first legend is more exciting and nicely fits the "Aged 4 Years in Wood" claim that the company promoted since its beginning, but the second is more plausible. James would probably not have left his experimental keg of soda in an employer's basement while going to war. James's son said in 1936, "I suspect that all through the war he carried in his mind that formula for the soft drink," implying the formula had not yet been mixed while Vernor was at war. A 1962 interview with James Vernor Davis, president of the company from 1952 to 1966, also dismisses this theory.



James Vernor entered the industry just as it began to take off, finding his new career after his service in the Civil War. Upon returning to Detroit, Vernor quickly resumed work in the pharmacy business, opening a drugstore on the corner of Woodward Avenue and Clifford Street with Charles L'Hommedieu. They bought their own carbonation equipment and began dispensing their own soft drinks. Whether Vernor had retrieved his legendary wooden keg at the end of the war or actually began formulating his ginger ale at this point, this was the beginning of the Vernor's empire.

 

[hemihampton]

Clifford is 7 blocks north of Woodward & Jefferson where that newer Skyscraper pic was taken. When he moved in 1896 to 33 Woodward I think he moved closer to the River. Here is a Pic of Woodward looking south to the River. LEON.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Leon

I'm not sure if anything remains of the first two Vernor's locations, but the best descriptions I can find for both is ...

1866-1896 - 235 Woodward Avenue - Southwest corner of Woodward Avenue and Clifford Street



1896-1940 - 33 Woodward Avenue - South of Jefferson



Interior - 33 Woodward Avenue - circa 1922



Woodward Avenue - circa 1900 - (ink/woodblock)