Quick-Links:

• Your Help Is Needed!
• Koca Nola Bottles Wanted: $200 Reward!
• Wanted For My Koca Nola Collection
• Wanted For My Personal Collection
• Koca Nola Project References
• Research Providers
• Reference Books
• Newspapers And Periodicals
• Other Resources

Your Help Is Needed!

Do you have and/or collect Koca Nola items?  Do you know someone who has or collects Koca Nola items?  Do you have information pertaining to the Koca Nola Company and/or any of its confirmed/suspected franchises?  We are seeking:

• copies of vintage advertisements;

• copies of vintage photographs;

• plant addresses;

• names of owners;

• years of operation; and

• photographs of bottles. 

If you have anything related to Koca Nola, please contact us as soon as possible and help document the Koca Nola story!  All contributions will be fully credited to those who submit information.

KOCA NOLA BOTTLES WANTED: $200 REWARD!

BIMAL crown top bottle from the KOCA NOLA / BOTTLING WORKS / Koca Nola / GASTONIA, N.C.

Depending on condition, I will pay a MINIMUM of $200 for embossed crown top Koca Nola soda bottles from:

• ALABAMA: Bessemer, Camden, Headland, Samson

• CONNECTICUT: New Haven

• FLORIDA: Jasper

• GEORGIA: Augusta, Bagley, Columbus, Dalton, Donalsonville, Elberton, Hartwell, Milledgeville, Newnan, Savannah, Talbotton

• ILLINOIS: Rockford

• KENTUCKY: Somerset

• MAINE: Bath

• MARYLAND: Frederick

• MISSISSIPPI: Crystal Springs

• MISSOURI: St. Louis

• NEW JERSEY: Elizabeth

• NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte, Fort Mountain, Gastonia, High Point, Louisburg, Lumberton, Marion, Mt. Airy, New London, Old Fort

• OHIO: Kenton

• PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia (J. ESPOSITO, quarts)

• SOUTH CAROLINA: Fairfax

• TENNESSEE: Gallatin, LaFollette, Maryville, New River and South Pittsburg, Oliver Springs, Oneida

• TEXAS: Tyler, Waco

• VIRGINIA: Bristol

• WASHINGTON: North Yakima

• WASHINGTON D.C.

• WEST VIRGINIA: Berkeley Springs

• MEXICO: Puebla

• CUBA: Havana

WANTED FOR MY KOCA NOLA COLLECTION

• Hutchinson soda bottles (particularly the KOCA NOLA CO. / KOCA NOLA / ATLANTA, GA. with 10 panel base)

• Crown top soda bottles

• Embossed quart "sample" soda bottle

• Paper soda bottle labels

• Soda bottle crown caps

• Calendars

• Watch fobs

• Match safes

• Thermometers

• Pocket mirrors

• Lady's face powder boxes (Photographs by Robert Hookey)

• Circa 1909 Extract Premium Catalog

• 1907 postcard "A Passing Shadow" by portrait artist Philip Boileau featuring a beautiful woman on the front, with a Koca Nola advertisement on the divided back (Photograph by Craig Reed) 

• and other Koca Nola postcards or trade cards 

• and anything else from Koca Nola not listed above! 

WANTED FOR MY PERSONAL COLLECTION

Embossed and Applied Color Label soda, milk, and druggist bottles and related memorabilia from:

ALABAMA

• Bellefonte

• Bridgeport

The Bridgeport (Alabama) Bottling Works began operations in October, 1891, producing 90 cases of soda pop the first week that they were in business.  The soda pop was marketed in glass bottles utilizing Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stopper.  By April, 1892, their sales amounted to 400 cases per week, and that number likely increased to 500 cases per week before the firm went out of business due to (in all probability) the Panic of 1893. 

During its heyday, the Bridgeport Bottling Works manufactured far more soda than the town's population of 3,500 could consume, so it is this author's conjecture that a large portion of the firm's soda pop was shipped via rail to be marketed elsewhere.  In fact, two examples of horseshoe-plate mould style Hutchinson bottles from the Bridgeport Bottling Works were dug out west years ago!  Depicted below are examples of two variants of these rare Hutchinson bottles.  If you are aware of others, please let me know!  I am also very interested in adding any other Bridgeport Bottling Works bottles to my collection as well.

References: The Bridgeport News, May 5, 1892; Dennis Lambert, Bridgeport, Alabama; HutchBook.com

Photographs: Robert Hookey, South Pittsburg, Tennessee

Bridgeport also had several druggists, including Hollis G. Watson.  The accompanying illustration pictures one of his clear medicine bottles embossed YOUR / DRUGGIST / HOLLIS G. WATSON / BRIDGEPORT / ALA.  I'd sure like to add one of these to my collection!  (Photograph by Eddie Bellamy)

   

• Carpenter

• Scottsboro 

SCOTTSBORO, ALA / REGISTERED / 7 OZ. (on shoulder) / PROPERTY OF COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO. (near base) - Photograph: Robert Hookey, South Pittsburg, Tennessee

• Stevenson

GEORGIA

• Cole City

TENNESSEE

• Battle Creek

• Comfort

• Copenhagen

• Jasper

• Ketchall

• Monteagle

• Needmore

• New River

• Orme

• South Pittsburg

• Tracy City

T. C. I. & B. CO. / TRACY CITY / TENN. (Tracy City Ice & Bottling Company) - Photograph: Robert Hookey, South Pittsburg, Tennessee

•  Whitwell

KOCA NOLA PROJECT REFERENCES

RESEARCH PROVIDERS:

• Bill Baab: Augusta, Georgia
• Doyle Bailey:
• Irene Baker: Huntsville, Tennessee
• Carl Barnett: Douglas, Georgia
• Charlie Barnette: Bristol, Tennessee
• Shane Bell: Morrow, Georgia
• William Brand: Ocala, Florida
• JoAnne Brown: Ashburn, Georgia
• Jennifer Burns: High Point, North Carolina
• Susan Mantell Cobb: Raleigh, North Carolina
• Charles Comolli: Elberton, Georgia
• Kenneth Cornett: Rockford, Tennessee
• Wilma Craig: Gastonia, North Carolina
• Jeff Dahlberg: Rockford, Illinois
• Corey Davidson: Harriman, Tennessee
• Elizabeth Davis: Old Fort, North Carolina
• Russell C. Driver: Maryville, Tennessee
• Deb Elsasser: Kenton, Ohio
• Bob & Alexander Esposito: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Harry Evans: Jasper, Tennessee
• Joel Ferguson: Slidell, Louisiana
• Ron Fowler: Littlerock, Washington
• Gwen Gallman: Crystal Springs, Mississippi
• Doris Greer: Washington, D.C.
• Larry Grotz: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• Jeannie Mantell Havel: Emmitsburg, Maryland
• Allen Haynes: Castalian Springs, Tennessee
• Adele Heagney: St. Louis, Missouri
• Jackie Hedstrom: High Point, North Carolina
• George and Willis Herman: Creedmore, North Carolina
• Robert Hookey: South Pittsburg, Tennessee
• Jamie Houdeshell: Ohio
• Jimmy Hubbard: Winchester, Kentucky
• Wallace Ivey: Albemarle, North Carolina
• Muriel M. Jackson: Macon, Georgia
• Steve Jobe: Cordelle, Georgia
• Jane Johnson: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Peggy Johnson: Elberton, Georgia
• John Johnston: Brundidge, Alabama
• Jarian Jones: Milledgeville, Georgia
• Frank Kaner: Pensacola, Florida
• Ed Kuskie: Elizabeth, Pennsylvania
• Christine B. Ledbetter: Marion, North Carolina
• Joe Lee: Abingdon, Virginia
• Tom Lines: Birmingham, Alabama
• Bill Lockhart: Alamagordo, New Mexico
• Reggie Lynch: Durham, North Carolina
• Colleen McKnight: Washington, DC
• Donnie Medlin: Louisburg, North Carolina
• Melear, Jerrell: Fairburn, Georgia
• Glenda Milliken: Gallatin, Tennessee
• Paul Morrison: Albemarle, North Carolina
• Cecil Munsey: Poway, California
• Trulene Nash: LaFollette, Tennessee
• Philip A. Pfeifer: Pensacola, Florida
• Betty W. Pouncey: Montgomery, Alabama
• Craig Reed: Helenwood, Tennessee
• Dee Dee Rogers: New Haven, Connecticut
• Mrs. Ross: Gallatin, Tennessee
• Paul Roy: Oneida, Tennessee
• Becky Settle: Gallatin, Tennessee
• Dan Shiffner: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Dennis Smith: Buffalo, New York
• James Smith: Birmingham, Alabama
• Judy Smith: Donalson, Georgia
• Corey Stock: Jacksonville, Florida
• Tarquin Swift: Freshwater, Australia
• Sandy Thaxton: Kenton, Ohio
• Tonya Thomas: Jellico, Tennessee
• Robert Wagner: Jackson, Mississippi
• Imogene Wells: Ashburn, Georgia
• J. White: Atlanta, Georgia
• Susan Wolfe: Bristol, Virginia
• Zang Wood: Farmington, New Mexico
• George Zepp: Rugby, Tennessee

REFERENCE BOOKS:

• 1906 Montgomery, Alabama City Directory

• 1905-8 Jacksonville, Florida City Directories

• 1906-1912 St. Louis, Missouri City Directories 

• 1910 Savannah, Georgia City Directory

• 1908 Somerset, Kentucky City Directory

• 1908-1909 Kenton, Ohio City Directory

• Georgia Early Embossed Crown Top Soda Bottles by Carl Barnett and Ken Nease

• Mississippi's Antique Bottles & Jugs by James McClure

• Pensacola's Soda Water Legacy 1837-1998 by Philip A. Pfeiffer

• Talbot County Georgia History, August 23, 1906

• Collecting Soda Pop Bottles by Ron Fowler

• Augusta On Glass by Bill Baab

• The Bottler's Helper by Blumenthal Bros., 1907

• A Century of Pride and Growth New London, 1891-1991 by Jeannette Nash  

• 1908-1909 Johnson City, Tennessee City Directory

• 1908-1909-1910 Washington, D.C. Directories

• History of Blount County Tennessee 1795-1955 revised by Inez E. Burns  

• A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans by Will T. Hale and Dixon L. Merritt

• Petretti's Coca-Cola Collectibles Price Guide, 8th Edition, by Alan Petretti, 1992

• Petretti's Soda Pop Collectibles Price Guide, 3rd Edition, by Alan Petretti, 2003

• Southwest St. Louis, 1910

• The Real Ones: Four Generations of the First Family of Coca-Cola, by Elizabeth Candler Graham and Ralph Roberts, 1992

• "Who Put The Borax In Dr. Wiley's Butter?" by Gerald Carson, August, 1956, from Great Stories of American Businessmen, by American Heritage Publishing Company, 1972

• Circling Windrock Mountain: Two Hundred Years in Appalachia by Augusta Grove Bell, University of Tennessee Press, 1998.

• 1902-1918 Charlotte, North Carolina City Directories

• Fairburn: The First Hundred Years by Nancy Jones Cornell, Fairburn, Georgia

• 1899-1923 Rockford, Illinois City Directories

NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS:

• The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia: May 18, 1890; March 15 & 22, 1904; June 17, 1904; February 6, 1905; May 11, 1905; June 18, 1905; July 21, 1906; July 4, 1909; July 20, 1909; October 22 & 23, 1909

• The Augusta Chronicle, Augusta, Georgia: April 27, 1905; October 28, 1907

• The National Bottlers' Gazette: January 5, 1906; February 5, 1909; August. 5, 1909

• The Hardin Co. Republican, Ohio: August 8, 1910

• The Headland Post, Headland, Alabama: March 16, 1909

• The Bristol Herald-Courier, Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia, April 6, 1907

• The South Pittsburg Hustler, South Pittsburg, Tennessee: May 17, June 28, and August 9, 1907

• The Tacoma Times, Tacoma, Washington: May 31, 1910

• The Yakima Herald, Yakima, Washington: September 19, 1906

• Iowa City Citizen, Iowa City, Iowa: October 22, 1909

• The News, Frederick, Maryland: September 15, 1906

• The Maryville Enterprise, Maryville, Tennessee: April 11, 1907

• "Matches, Match Safes and the History and Relics of Koca Nola" by Cecil Munsey, Federation Glass Works Journal, January 1992 (excerpts used by permission)

• "Bustling Bilesville Changes to New London," Stanly (North Carolina) News and Press, June 10, 1980

• The Macon Daily Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, January 1, 1907; March 27, 1920

• The Gallatin News, Gallatin, Tennessee, April 1, 1905 

• The Cumberland Chronicle: August 10, 1907

• The Soda Fizz, Volume 5, Number 2 (Deacon Brown)

• The (Semi-Weekly) Robesonian: April 28, 1905

• The Southern Carbonator And Bottler: April, 1910

• Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews, Volume 26, December 1909

• Bulletin of Pharmacy, page 488: 1909

• The Adair County News: March 27, 1907

• The Weekly True Democrat, Jacksonville, Florida: June 23, 1905

• American Carbonator and American Bottler: June 15, 1905; November 15, 1905; December 15, 1905; 1906; 1910; 1912

• The Campbell (County) News, Fairburn, Georgia: April 7, 1905; May 26, 1905

OTHER RESOURCES:

• Letter: Thomas H. Austin to Turner Drug Store, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/m/misc (Southern Bus. Letters, Unit 72)

• Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia

• Pulaski County Historical Society, Somerset, Kentucky

• Scott County Historical Society, Huntsville, Tennessee

• Woodruff & Coca-Cola prosecuting copycat competition: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/-slaterj/dissertation5.htm (Dr. Jan Slater)

• Keen Bottling Co. Koca Nola letterhead, April 9, 1906

• Letter from Willard Keen to A. Y. Keen, April 25, 1906 (courtesy Ms. Irene Baker, Scott County Historical Society)

• Bottlers, Brewers, & Distillers, Macon, Georgia, 1860-1960

• Advertising flyer for Berkeley Springs Bottling Works, The Morgan Messenger Print, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, 1907

• "The Story of the Laws Behind The Labels" by Wallace F. Janssen, FDA Historian

• Mecklenburg Historical Association, Charlotte, North Carolina

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