Drake's Plantation Bitters
The manufacturer of Drake's, Catawba Bitters, was started by Patrick H. Drake and partner, Jerome B. Brown, in 1858. By 1859, Drake was the sole manufacturer of Catawba Bitters. This bottle is made from amber glass in a log-cabin design, with a sloping-collar finish. Embossed on two sides of the roof is "ST/DRAKES/1860/PLANTATION/X/BITTERS//PATENTED/1862".
Nearly eight years ago Huntindog & I got together for a “bottle quest†in the Sacramento Delta area near Grand Island. This area was reclaimed numerous times in the early gold rush era. By reclaimed, I mean the surrounding property was inundated by flood waters almost yearly as it had been for thousands of years before. Enterprising farmers built levees to protect their new crops of potatoes, pears and the like. The farmers built their levees higher & higher each year only to fall victim to higher flood waters. It seemed like the higher the levees were built..... the higher the flood water came. In addition, the levees were built from the surrounding land..... often sand. Whether sand or peat the levees were breached with the entire landscape becoming a raging sea. Levees 60 feet tall were not uncommon as time progressed. Each foot of fill was was tamped in place having been brought to site by wheelbarrow & fresno. Chinese laborers were paid 15 cents a wheelbarrow with a foreman on site to see that there were no sticks in the load. (Those pesky Chinese)
This story is about hunting a farm house near Steamboat Slough & Sacramento River. When one reads Thompson & West's “ History of Sacramento County â€one quickly sees several family names that are with us today...sometimes 5th & 6th generation. At one of these locations (Mrs. Kerchavell's homesite) we began our quest. We parked nearby in the shade of a locust tree, got our equipment and preceded to the dump site. This area fell victim to the numerous levee rebuilds...most of the items were badly broken with others lost beneath tons of soil. I remember the day as being grueling...After several hours I had two half dollar sized pieces of pretty glass...darn right pretty....but come on, get real - nothing whole. I wondered how Huntingdog was doing as we often hunt apart. I was just about to call it quits when I spied a Drake's Plantation Bitters! I've never found many Drakes. The four I have found always had a log knocked off or even half of the top missing....This bottle was perfect...I proudly showed it to Huntindog as I returned to the car. He pointed out that this Drakes was a five log variant...I still know very little about Drakes, but the five log seems to be a better bottle than others. In particular, I like that it's whole and in a apricot- yellow coloring...Did I say it was whole....YAY..... Do you'all find Drake's Plantation Bitters???? There is always a Drakes for sale on Ebay....they must be somewhat common. Still a spectacular bottle....thank you Mrs Kerchavell. I so appreciate your enterprising nature & don't worry - I'll make sure those wheelbarrows are properly filled....no sticks....I want a good 15cents worth of labor.... and here's a nod to those poorly treated underpaid Chinese laborers – so much a part of California's history.Drake's Plantation Bitters
The manufacturer of Drake's, Catawba Bitters, was started by Patrick H. Drake and partner, Jerome B. Brown, in 1858. By 1859, Drake was the sole manufacturer of Catawba Bitters. This bottle is made from amber glass in a log-cabin design, with a sloping-collar finish. Embossed on two sides of the roof is "ST/DRAKES/1860/PLANTATION/X/BITTERS//PATENTED/1862".
Nearly eight years ago Huntindog & I got together for a “bottle quest†in the Sacramento Delta area near Grand Island. This area was reclaimed numerous times in the early gold rush era. By reclaimed, I mean the surrounding property was inundated by flood waters almost yearly as it had been for thousands of years before. Enterprising farmers built levees to protect their new crops of potatoes, pears and the like. The farmers built their levees higher & higher each year only to fall victim to higher flood waters. It seemed like the higher the levees were built..... the higher the flood water came. In addition, the levees were built from the surrounding land..... often sand. Whether sand or peat the levees were breached with the entire landscape becoming a raging sea. Levees 60 feet tall were not uncommon as time progressed. Each foot of fill was was tamped in place having been brought to site by wheelbarrow & fresno. Chinese laborers were paid 15 cents a wheelbarrow with a foreman on site to see that there were no sticks in the load. (Those pesky Chinese)
This story is about hunting a farm house near Steamboat Slough & Sacramento River. When one reads Thompson & West's “ History of Sacramento County â€one quickly sees several family names that are with us today...sometimes 5th & 6th generation. At one of these locations (Mrs. Kerchavell's homesite) we began our quest. We parked nearby in the shade of a locust tree, got our equipment and preceded to the dump site. This area fell victim to the numerous levee rebuilds...most of the items were badly broken with others lost beneath tons of soil. I remember the day as being grueling...After several hours I had two half dollar sized pieces of pretty glass...darn right pretty....but come on, get real - nothing whole. I wondered how Huntingdog was doing as we often hunt apart. I was just about to call it quits when I spied a Drake's Plantation Bitters! I've never found many Drakes. The four I have found always had a log knocked off or even half of the top missing....This bottle was perfect...I proudly showed it to Huntindog as I returned to the car. He pointed out that this Drakes was a five log variant...I still know very little about Drakes, but the five log seems to be a better bottle than others. In particular, I like that it's whole and in a apricot- yellow coloring...Did I say it was whole....YAY..... Do you'all find Drake's Plantation Bitters???? There is always a Drakes for sale on Ebay....they must be somewhat common. Still a spectacular bottle....thank you Mrs Kerchavell. I so appreciate your enterprising nature & don't worry - I'll make sure those wheelbarrows are properly filled....no sticks....I want a good 15cents worth of labor.... and here's a nod to those poorly treated underpaid Chinese laborers – so much a part of California's history.Drake's Plantation Bitters
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