Bottles and ExtrasSummer 200672

John Matthews

Father of the Soda Fountainby Donald Yates

Since the dawn of history, naturallycarbonated mineral water has beenbubbling out of springs and spas andtickling Man’s curiosity. One of the manyproclaimed benefits of some of these springswas their use as a cure for obesity; I wouldguess that if you drank enough, it couldwork!

Europe had world-famous soda watersprings in England, France, and Germany.In the United States, thousands of springsand spas had also been developed intodesirable destinations for the celebratedmedicinal and healing attributes of theirvarious waters. Saratoga Springs in UpstateNew York had several artesian geyserswhich were naturally effervescent or bubbly.These were similar to the Old Faithfulgeyser, except they were continuouslyspouting, never taking a break.

Early scientific thinkers in Europe, likeParacelsus back in the 16th century andLavosier and Dr. Joseph Priestly in the 18th

century, studied and experimented withthese mineral waters. Lavosier of Franceidentified carbonic acid and stated that itwas composed of carbon and oxygen. In1772, Dr. Joseph Priestly first recognizedthat soda water was impregnated withcarbonic acid gas; he also tried to use theaerated water to produce a cure for scurvy.

The next phase in the history of sodawater was for Man to produce it artificially.Top scientists from many nations weretrying to produce carbonated soda water,which would imitate the natural mineralwaters and still be safe, palatable, andprofitable.

The first attempts at manufacturingsoda water was done by men namedThurneisser in 1560, Hoffman in 1685, andGeoffroy in 1724; their success was lessthan remarkable. Von Helmont in 1630 firstexplained carbonic acid gas. In 1750progress was made and Venel producedcarbonic acid by combining muriatic acidin a solution of carbonate of soda. Dr.Black, in 1757, isolated carbonic acid fromall other gasses and called it “Fixed Air.”

Similarly in the United States, ProfessorBenjamin Silliman of Yale University

began manufacturing and bottling smallquantities of mineral water in New HavenConnecticut, in 1806. A few years later, in1810, an early New York City soda fountainbegan dispensing various homemade Vichy,Kissingen, and Apollinaris seltzer watersfor the thirsty public. The first carbonationpatent in the U.S. was granted to Simmonsand Rundell of Charleston, SC in 1810.

Acid + Marble = SodaEnglishman John Matthews sailed over

the briny Atlantic waters to find his fortunewith soda water in the United States. Thegreatest soda fountain development at thetime of his arrival in 1832 was occurringin New York City. Like their Europeancousins, Americans had developed a greatpassion and thirst for mineral water. Spashad been built at many of the great springs,where many gladly paid for the opportunityto drink and bathe in the mineral waters.

Taverns were very plentiful across thenation, serving rum, beer, and all mannerof libations, but for the first time, JohnMatthews offered them some competitionwith his soda fountain. In addition to sellingthe air-charged waters to retail stores anddrug stores, he also sold them full-sizedsoda fountains. He established his sodawater manufacturing plant at 55 GoldStreet, in New York City. His firstequipment was quitesimple: a cast iron box,lined with lead, wherecarbonic acid gas wasformed by the chemicalreaction of sulfuric acidon marble dust.(Sulfuric acid wascalled oil of vitriol atthat time.) The gas wasthen purified bypassing it throughwater, and transportedinto a tank partiallyfilled with cool water.An employee rockedthe tank for half anhour until the waterbecame impregnated

with the gas and was bubbly. Salts werethen added to imitate the popular mineralwaters of the world.

The introduction of marble dust was anAmerican invention. A man namedBramah had used whiting and chalk –calcium carbonate in Europe – but marblewas easier and cheaper to acquire in NewYork City. At one point, the enterprisingJohn Matthews acquired all of the scrapmarble from the construction of St.Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City foruse in his soda fountain factory. As mightbe expected, some of the church’s faithfulcomplained about Matthews’ use of themarble. Undaunted by their objections,Mathews’ factory created about twenty-fivemillion gallons of soda water before thesupply of marble remnants from thecathedral ran out.

One of the most common hazards in thecreation of carbonated water in those earlydays was the high pressure created in thegenerator and in the bottles and siphons.Explosions were, of course, not desired, andseveral of John’s competitors had bottle andsiphon explosions. The Matthews SodaFountain Company, however, had a special,unique device for preventing the pressurein the fountain from exceeding the desired150 pounds per square inch (PSI).

The safety valve was provided by an ex-slave named Ben Austen, one of Matthews’earliest employees. Austen was a man ofintelligence and, above all, strength. Whenthe force of a new batch of soda waterneeded to be measured, the job fell to Ben,who simply placed his powerful thumb overthe pressure cock. When it blew his thumbaway, the Matthews people estimated thatthey had reached 150 PSI and that the water

Matthews

Compressor

with Generator

Bottles and Extras Summer 2006 73

was fully charged. “Ben’s Thumb” was longa term in the jargon of the soda fountaintrade. During the Civil War draft riots,when angry Irish mobs roamed the NewYork streets seeking to hang any Negro theycould find, John Matthews was obliged toship Ben out to safety in a packing case, asthough he was a charging cylinder of theproduct.

Water, Water EverywhereThe manufacture of soda water required

a pure source of water, since it was tobecome a beverage. The water must beselected with great care and purified withequal thoroughness. The ideal water sourcefor this soda water should come from adeep, cool, sparkling well, in a goodlocation, without contamination.

Cool spring water could also be used asa source of soda water. The spring waterhad to be filtered to achieve an acceptabledegree of purity. As rain water falls on theearth’s surface, it absorbs the solubleparticles found there, and graduallybecomes more and more contaminated,percolating through the different layers ofthe ground and dissolving out mineralcompounds found locally. Due to thesedissolved compounds, these waters werecalled “Natural Mineral Waters.”

Carbonic Acid GasCarbonic acid gas is the most important

ingredient in the manufacture of soda water,besides pure water. All effervescent drinksdepend for their refreshing attributes, theirsparking, prickling and excellent taste, onthe carbonic acid gas incorporated intothem. Carbonic acid gas must be perfectlypure, free from air, and should not contain

fountains had a spigot for both Ginger Beerand Ginger Ale. There were internationalGinger Ale competitions, often with medalsgiven as prizes. You may remember theunique flavors of Canada Dry Ginger Aleand Verner’s Ginger Ale.

Generations of GeneratorsIn the first half of the nineteenth

century, carbonated gas was manufacturedin the U.S. by a standard array of machinerythat consisted of a vertical carbonatefeeding generator, in which the gas wasproduced under moderate pressure; a large,round cylindrical iron gasometer, intowhich the gas was received, and a beveragecarbonating compressor, which pushed thecarbonic acid gas and the liquid into acondenser, where they were thoroughlymixed. From the condenser the carbonatewas drawn to furnish the bottling machinesor siphon fillers. Steam power was desiredto operate the carbonating compressor.

The Matthews Generator – Matthewsimproved on the manufacture of soda-making with a generator of his own design.This machinery consisted of two horizontalacid feeding generators to produce the gas,three stationary fountains, and a force pumpfor injecting the fountains with liquid, whenthey were charged with carbonic acid gas.Its operation was almost continuousbecause each generator was operatedindependently of the other. The generatorsand fountains were made of gun metal ironand tested to 500 PSI.

Heading toward the end of the century,several strong competitors to Matthewsentered the soda fountain market: JohnLippincott of Philadelphia; A. D. Puffer ofBoston; and James W. Tufts of Somerville,Massachusetts. (The Tufts Arctic SodaFountain prospered quickly and theypurchased prime land in North Carolina.This was the famous Pinehurst CountryClub, which was originally developed totreat patients with tuberculosis.) Each manhad his own favored design of carbonationgenerator:

The Lippincott Generator – TheLippincott equipment consisted of twogenerators at each end, and three stationaryfountains, constructed of copper. Thegenerator was acid-proof with a lead lining.The fountains were sanitary with a tinlining. The purifiers were controlled at thesides of the generators. The agitators wereoperated with wheel cranks manually andalso to start the agitators before shifting the

any disagreeable odors, such as sulfurcompounds.

An ideal gas pressure for glass bottlesis 45 PSI. Higher pressures present noadvantage and are dangerous to theapparatus and the bottles. Siphons arepressurized to 130 PSI.

Carbonic acid gas was obtained bycombining ground marble dust withsulfuric acid. The gas was then collectedand purified by passing it up through acolumn of water. Chemical purificationsuch as bicarbonate of soda was also veryeffective.

A Frenchman’s Revolutionary Idea A dramatic soda water development to

stimulate business was created in the shopof a Pennsylvanian perfumer in 1838.Frenchman Eugene Roussel, was sellingplain soda water at his perfume shop inPhiladelphia. With the ingenuity thatcharacterizes Frenchmen when dealingwith the opposite sex, Roussel decided toadd flavors to his customer’s drinks. Voila!Despite the enormous interest in andcompetition over soda water business, noone had thought of flavored soda water untilthen – and just like that the soda industryexperienced its own French Revolution!

Soon the crude soda fountains ofMatthews and his competitors were nowkeeping on hand many syrup flavors suchas Orange, Cherry, Lemon, Ginger, Peach,and Teaberry. If you remember the TeaberryShuffle, then you are definitely interestedin American history. “The TeaberryShuffle” was a song and dance promotedby the Adams Chewing Gum Company.According to the advertisements, afterpopping the gum in your mouth you wouldget so excited by the exhilarating teaberryflavor that you were supposed tospontaneously and uncontrollably startdancing the Teaberry Shuffle! Teaberry isalso known as Wintergreen and CheckerBerries; it is also the predominant flavorin root beer. Chemically it is methylsalicylate, but root beer clearly sounds muchmore delicious! Root Beer, Birch Beer, andSarsaparilla Beer also made theirappearance as carbonated soda flavors andwere available in bottles or made at thestore’s soda fountain.

Attempts were made to imitate theflavors of wine and mead, but were not verysuccessful. Ginger was probably the mostimportant flavor. Brewed Ginger Beer wasthe most popular small beer from Englandfor over two hundred years. The early soda

Matthews

Bottling

Table

Bottles and ExtrasSummer 200674

belt for automatic operation. There was agas bell on top of the generator into whichthe gas rose and to which the pipes andsafety relief valves were attached. Thiswould preclude the blocking of the pipesby the foaming of the carbonate. The acidvalve was raised and locked by a wheel andscrew conveniently located near theoperator.

Puffer’s Generator – This gas generatorconsisted of two generators and threecylinders, with two sediment traps, two gasdomes, two automatic valves, one patentregulating valve, and a double actingpressure pump. Each valve could be set totake the gas from the generator, which wascharged to 200 PSI. This was the properpressure for charging soda water fountains.

Tuft’s Generator – The Tuft’s gasgenerator consisted of two generators withthree purifiers at the side, an equalizingvalve, three cylinders with water gauges, apressure gauge, and an injection pump. Gaswas developed in the normal manner in oneof the generators, and the desired volumeof water was pumped into the cylinders.The equalizing valve of the first generatorwas set at the proper pressure by means ofthe pressure gauge.

In 1891, Tuft’s Arctic Soda FountainCompany consolidated with A. D. Pufferand Sons of Boston, John Matthews of NewYork and Charles Lippincott ofPhiladelphia into THE AMERICAN SODAFOUNTAIN COMPANY. James W. Tuftswas the President.

The Centennial Exhibition was held inPhiladelphia in 1876. On display were thelatest inventions, gadgets and machinery.There was a Corliss Steam Engine huffingand puffing that was larger than aresidential home. If you carefully looked

around, you would have discovered a TuftsArtic Soda Fountain. James Tufts andCharles Lippincott paid $50,000 forexclusive rights to sell soda pop and icecream sodas. They displayed an ornate,thirty foot high soda fountain. It wasfabricated from different colored marble,and had elaborate spigots, a hangingchandelier and hanging ferns.

Bottling MachineryIn the late 1880s the process of bottling

carbonated beverages was almostuniversally performed by means of abottling apparatus that made the bottlingprocess much more cost-effective. Thefilling machine could be convenientlylocated near the bottling machine by simplyincreasing the length of the soda pipe. Thisconnecting pipe was best manufacturedfrom pure tin for sanitary considerations.On American bottling machines, the unitwas attached by a flexible rubber hose,which needed to be of high quality towithstand the bottling pressure.

The Matthews filling machine was usedfor bottling with corks. It had a syrup gaugeattached to the cork gauge, allowing all ofthe corks to be driven in uniformly and tothe proper depth into the neck of eachbottle. When the cork was well in, thebottling ledge could be raised enough topermit the cork to be properly secured withthe cork swing fastener.

Syrup tanks were the necessaryreservoir units of the bottling machine.They contained the ready-made flavoredsyrup which fed the syrup pump and wasintended for flavoring the carbonated water.It was required, where different beveragesby continuous bottling processes were beingproduced, to have each kind of flavored

syrup in a separate syrup tank, which couldbe immediately connected with the syrupgauge and bottling machine. The tankswere usually constructed of tin-linedcopper.

Typical 1880 Soda BottlingFrom a period instruction manual

comes this step-by-step procedure for fillingsoda bottles:

• After the bottling machine is properlycharged, the syrup is ready, and thebottling machine is in order, also afterthe corks have been previously wellprepared according to the instructions forcorks.

• Place the bottle in the filler rack andpress down the foot pedal until the fillinghead is firmly on the mouth of the bottle…

• With your right hand, raise the handlever, and grab a cork with your left hand,and place it evenly in the cylinder. Drivethe cork about half way through the fillinghead and hold it there in order to closethe mouth of the cylinder tightly.

• With your left hand on the syrup gaugelever, make a single stroke, holding openuntil the bottle fills, thus injecting therequired amount of syrup into the glassbottle and allowing it to be filled withsoda pop.

• The syrup gauge is pre-set to gaugeexactly the required amount of syrup.Then push back the gauge lever and drivethe cork into the bottle with the handlever.

• Release the foot pedal sufficiently,allowing the bottling cylinder to rise,meanwhile holding down the cork withyour hand, and put the wire bail securelyover the cork.

Matthews Soda

Water Cart

Matthews Apparatus

with Pump

Bottles and Extras Summer 2006 75

• Remove your foot from the pedal andyou can remove your filled bottle fromthe filling machine.

American Soda FountainsWhere large stationary counters were

established, soda fountains were directlyconnected with the required generatingequipment. It was highly recommendedthat a special carbonating unit be installed.It would have had two stationary fountainswith agitators.

Dispensing fountains were quiteadapted for populous places of resort, inthe main thoroughfare, or where traffic wasgreat. Ideal locations included major cities,sea shores, amusement parks, and railwaystations. Summer boardwalks were ideal.The demand for soda water was greatestduring the summer. Cooling the soda drinkwith ice was a new innovation thatcontributed to the soda business boom.

Some of the most delicious drinks weresupplied by means of these fountains. Thetypical fountain might have a half-dozentumblers that could be washed quickly andreused. They were simply rinsed in coldwater because no one understood aboutbacteria at the time. Large profits were theresult of repeat customers who craved thesweet bubbly beverages. Since the demandfor non-intoxicating drinks was so muchon the increase, the opportunity to cash inon the temperance-minded public wasperfect for shops and drug stores with agood counter trade that were willing to givethe soda fountain experiment a trial. It wasone of the most beneficial additions to anexisting business – such as an apothecaryshop, candy store, hotel, or café – beingornamental and at the same time profitable.The experiment entailed no risk beyond thepurchase of the apparatus, because softdrinks were not subjected to excise tax.

Portable FountainsWhen a portable cylinder was employed

instead of stationary carbonating apparatus,it was attached by its connections to thedraught machine and then was ready foruse, remaining in its position until empty,when it would be replaced by a full cylinder.These portable cylinders were alwaysfabricated to be strong, testing to twice theworking pressure.

Fancy Fountains and Final MonumentFor a reasonable amount of capital, John

Matthews had enabled any druggist or other

names of famous mineral waters wouldappear on the larger models. Some of thesprings included Saratoga, Deep Rock,Kissingen, and Washington.

John Matthews died in 1870 and isburied in the Greenwood Cemetery inBrooklyn, New York. His marble grave sitehas an ornate Gothic architecturalmonument with carved illustrationsshowing different activities throughout hislife. Ironically, this elaborate edifice isslowly dissolving in the sulfuric acid rainsthat soak the marble – the destruction ofhis grave is undergoing the same processthat made him a soda water giant in life.

References:Charles Herman Sulz, A Treatise on

Beverages (New York: Charles H. SulzPublishers, 1888)

Druggists Circular, New York; June 1902.Joseph L. Morrison, “The Soda Fountain,”

American Heritage Magazine, August, 1962.Audrey Moriarty, Pinehurst Beginnings,

1979.

entrepreneur to get into the soda business.Others took the Matthews model anddeveloped it into a fine art. The master ofthe dramatic, eye-catching soda fountainwas G. D. Dows, of Lowell, Massachusetts,who tried to improve the appearance of thecrude soda fountain in his brother’s storeand wound up with a combination fountainand ice shaver housed in white Italianmarble. This new fountain quickly becameso popular that Dows opened his ownmarble shop in Boston.

This first marble fountain was calledthe “Cottage Fountain” and took over theindustry. It was basically constructed ofboxes resting on a counter and they ran thefull range of design. Popular stylesincluded Gothic, Roman, Byzantine,Egyptian, and in any combination. Theywere given names like: The Frost King, TheIce Floe, the Egyptian, and The Cathedral.

Ornate spigots projected out of tombsand temples and chalets decorated withsphinxes, lions, nymphs, and knights. The

1890 ad showing a Matthews Soda Fountain.

Ad reads: “The apparatus above illustrated is made at our Matthews factory and all corespondencerelating to this construction should be addressed to the American Soda Fountain Company, 449First Avenue, New York City, N.Y.”