Wheelah23
Well-Known Member
Well, any bottle diggers in the Tri-State area have probably heard of this place. You know, the beach that's literally covered in bottles? They're mostly from the 30-50's, too new for most of you I'm sure, but I still found it fun. If you haven't heard of it, here's a description:
"The bay was given its name sometime in the 1850s, when horse-rendering plants still surrounded the beach. From the New York Times: "Dead Horse Bay sits at the western edge of a marshland once dotted by more than two dozen horse-rendering plants, fish oil factories and garbage incinerators. From the 1850's until the 1930's, the carcasses of dead horses and other animals from New York City streets were used to manufacture glue, fertilizer and other products at the site. The chopped-up, boiled bones were later dumped into the water. The squalid bay, then accessible only by boat, was reviled for the putrid fumes that hung overhead." As the car industry grew, horse and buggies -- thus horse carcasses -- became scarce, and by the 1920s, there was only one rendering plant left.
It was during this era, around the turn of the century, that the marsh of Dead Horse Bay's began to be used as a landfill. Filled with trash by the 1930s, the trash heap was capped, only to have the cap burst in the 1950s and the trash spew forth onto the beach. Since then garbage has been leaking continually onto the beach and into the ocean from Dead Horse Bay.
Thousands upon thousands of bottles, broken and intact, many over 100 years old litter the shore. Though other hardy bits of trash pepper this beach of glass: leather shoe soles, rusty telephones, and scores of unidentifiable pieces of metal and plastic. The beach is usually empty, conjuring a quiet, eerie post-doomsday kind of scene that is the perfect setting for scavenging another era's trash."
After arriving and parking in the nearby Ranger Station's parking lot, we asked directions from a local person who pointed us in the right direction. It was a rather long walk through a scrubby forest that you find near marshy beaches. We came to a three way fork in the road, and made a decision: right. Turns out, it was not the wisest choice. We continued walking, then the forest opened up into dunes, and then into beach. We could see the garbage already. I picked my way through some stuff on the surface, then started walking through the water. I found a couple good bottles there. We continued to our right, but the finds seemed to be waning. We realized after an hour of slow walking that we should walk the other way.
There, the density of bottles increased. It soon got to the point where you couldn't step in the water without stepping on bottles. I had to guess which were commons and tried to step on them! Unfortunately, it took a while to find the densely packed area, and we soon had to leave. I would recommend researching this place, and anyone in the area should go. It's a fun trip for those interested in bottles.
I found a few nice bottles, and my mom found loads of shards for decorating. Here's a picture of my finds from the day. If anything catches your eye, just ask me for a closeup, I'll do what I can. The bottles I have questions about are pictured larger:
I thought this was cool. Some kind of mangrove root grew inside the bottle. Mostly whole, too.
A milk bottle. "M.H. RENKEN DAIRY CO." It was a dairy company in Brooklyn. Cows in Brooklyn? Who knew?
A swirly soda bottle. Hoffman Beverage Company, from Newark. Rarity?
Some kind of Lantern shaped Candy Container. What was once the metal cap has rusted so that it's now just an annoying lump. On the base, it's embossed with "T. H. STOUGH CO./ JEANNETTA PA" It has three ingredients embossed on the side, "SUGAR/STARCH/CORN SYRUP". On the other side, it's embossed with "CERTIFIED U.S. COLORS", as well as "1/4 OZ." How rare is this Candy Container?
Here's a bunch of different sodas and a beer. I love how different the colors are in the Cokes. They're both from NYC. The big bottle in the back says "GEO. SCHNEIDER & CO., BKLYN, NY". I can't find any information on any George Schneider, can anyone help me?
A really tiny green bottle. Waddya think?
I've got no idea about this one. I'm thinking it's a sample bottle of some kind, but I don't know much about that anyway. It's got a regular sized crown top, but it's a much smaller bottle than you'd expect. What do you think this bottle was? Pen for size reference.
This one had the original cork inside, which was a pain to remove. I'm not sure how old it is, but I'd guess it's older than the other. Ideas?
An ink-shaped bottle, but I don't think it is one. It's got this weird thing in the cap. Some orange goop is stuck in it really well.
Sorry about the bad picture. This is a square pyramid shaped blue bottle. I thought a late ink bottle. It's got some weird material in it that I can't remove. Probably some seaweed. What do you think?
Well, that's it. If you have any info about the bottles, please share. If you haven't been to Dead Horse Bay, I highly suggest you go!
"The bay was given its name sometime in the 1850s, when horse-rendering plants still surrounded the beach. From the New York Times: "Dead Horse Bay sits at the western edge of a marshland once dotted by more than two dozen horse-rendering plants, fish oil factories and garbage incinerators. From the 1850's until the 1930's, the carcasses of dead horses and other animals from New York City streets were used to manufacture glue, fertilizer and other products at the site. The chopped-up, boiled bones were later dumped into the water. The squalid bay, then accessible only by boat, was reviled for the putrid fumes that hung overhead." As the car industry grew, horse and buggies -- thus horse carcasses -- became scarce, and by the 1920s, there was only one rendering plant left.
It was during this era, around the turn of the century, that the marsh of Dead Horse Bay's began to be used as a landfill. Filled with trash by the 1930s, the trash heap was capped, only to have the cap burst in the 1950s and the trash spew forth onto the beach. Since then garbage has been leaking continually onto the beach and into the ocean from Dead Horse Bay.
Thousands upon thousands of bottles, broken and intact, many over 100 years old litter the shore. Though other hardy bits of trash pepper this beach of glass: leather shoe soles, rusty telephones, and scores of unidentifiable pieces of metal and plastic. The beach is usually empty, conjuring a quiet, eerie post-doomsday kind of scene that is the perfect setting for scavenging another era's trash."
After arriving and parking in the nearby Ranger Station's parking lot, we asked directions from a local person who pointed us in the right direction. It was a rather long walk through a scrubby forest that you find near marshy beaches. We came to a three way fork in the road, and made a decision: right. Turns out, it was not the wisest choice. We continued walking, then the forest opened up into dunes, and then into beach. We could see the garbage already. I picked my way through some stuff on the surface, then started walking through the water. I found a couple good bottles there. We continued to our right, but the finds seemed to be waning. We realized after an hour of slow walking that we should walk the other way.
There, the density of bottles increased. It soon got to the point where you couldn't step in the water without stepping on bottles. I had to guess which were commons and tried to step on them! Unfortunately, it took a while to find the densely packed area, and we soon had to leave. I would recommend researching this place, and anyone in the area should go. It's a fun trip for those interested in bottles.
I found a few nice bottles, and my mom found loads of shards for decorating. Here's a picture of my finds from the day. If anything catches your eye, just ask me for a closeup, I'll do what I can. The bottles I have questions about are pictured larger:
I thought this was cool. Some kind of mangrove root grew inside the bottle. Mostly whole, too.
A milk bottle. "M.H. RENKEN DAIRY CO." It was a dairy company in Brooklyn. Cows in Brooklyn? Who knew?
A swirly soda bottle. Hoffman Beverage Company, from Newark. Rarity?
Some kind of Lantern shaped Candy Container. What was once the metal cap has rusted so that it's now just an annoying lump. On the base, it's embossed with "T. H. STOUGH CO./ JEANNETTA PA" It has three ingredients embossed on the side, "SUGAR/STARCH/CORN SYRUP". On the other side, it's embossed with "CERTIFIED U.S. COLORS", as well as "1/4 OZ." How rare is this Candy Container?
Here's a bunch of different sodas and a beer. I love how different the colors are in the Cokes. They're both from NYC. The big bottle in the back says "GEO. SCHNEIDER & CO., BKLYN, NY". I can't find any information on any George Schneider, can anyone help me?
A really tiny green bottle. Waddya think?
I've got no idea about this one. I'm thinking it's a sample bottle of some kind, but I don't know much about that anyway. It's got a regular sized crown top, but it's a much smaller bottle than you'd expect. What do you think this bottle was? Pen for size reference.
This one had the original cork inside, which was a pain to remove. I'm not sure how old it is, but I'd guess it's older than the other. Ideas?
An ink-shaped bottle, but I don't think it is one. It's got this weird thing in the cap. Some orange goop is stuck in it really well.
Sorry about the bad picture. This is a square pyramid shaped blue bottle. I thought a late ink bottle. It's got some weird material in it that I can't remove. Probably some seaweed. What do you think?
Well, that's it. If you have any info about the bottles, please share. If you haven't been to Dead Horse Bay, I highly suggest you go!
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