American Soda Fountain history
American Soda Fountain company history timeline
Soda fountain counters had their start in Europe, and were brought to the United States in 1806 by a Yale chemistry professor, Benjamin Silliman.
In 1770 a Swede named Bergman produced the first artificially carbonated water, and by 1806 Professor Benjamin Silliman of Yale was manufacturing bottled water in Hartford, Connecticut.
Others improved upon their method, and in 1807 the first patent was granted to British inventor Henry Thompson.
In 1810, the first United States patent was issued for the mass manufacture of imitation mineral waters to inventors, Simons and Rundell of Charleston, South Carolina.
The first soda fountain patent was granted to Samuel Fahnestock in 1819.
In 1832, two men helped turn soda drinking into a major business when they began manufacturing soda fountains in the United States.
In 1832, John Matthews of New York City invented the first compact soda-water machine and dispenser unit, which popularized the drink and gave tavern owners their first stiff competition.
The birth of the soda fountain began with the drug revolution of the 1850’s.
On January 25, 1870, Gustavus Dows patented a more advanced and modern form of the soda fountain.
By 1876, helped along by the Centennial Exposition's 30-foot-high fountain, soda fountains replaced ice-cream saloons as the fashionable place for the elite to patronize and see the wonders of technology at work.
In the late 1880’s, real soda fountains were created with the invention of carbon dioxide tanks by Jacob Baur.
In 1883, James Tufts patented a soda fountain, which he called the Arctic.
The American Soda Fountain Company was formed in 1891, and included the four biggest and most successful makers: Tuft’s Arctic Soda Fountain, A. D. Puffer and Sons of Boston, John Matthews and Charles Lippincott.
There are vintage soda fountains that have survived, giving pharmacies bragging rights and attracting visitors, like the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in South Pasadena, California (dating to 1915). There’s also the James Gallery and Soda Fountain in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It was opened as a general store in 1790 and the soda fountain was installed in 1896.
The July 10, 1897 edition of the “American Druggist” states the importance of a pharmacist having high-quality syrups – called “winter soda syrups” – available to mix with hot soda water, and not necessarily just in the colder days of the year.
Baur and others worked to reinvent and change the image of soda fountain drinks in the early 1900’s, advertising them as non-intoxicating delicious treats.
While there were certain purveyors of sodas and ice cream previously it was the marriage of the drugstore and soda fountain of the early 1900’s that gave birth to the American soda fountain.
By 1900 common brand names sold at soda fountains included Hires Rootbeer, Moxie, Doctor Pepper's, and Coca-Cola, the "great national temperance drink."
In 1903, a revolution in soda fountain design took place with the front service fountain patented by Doctor Heisinger.
Also in 1914, congress passed a law that banned cocaine and opiates as over-the-counter products.
The reason for the explosion of soda fountains was most likely that prohibition began in 1919 and the soda fountain filled the social void caused by the closing of bars.
By the early 1920’s just about every drugstore had a soda fountain.
The legendary soda fountain at Schwab's drugstore in Hollywood was supposedly the place where young hopefuls went to get noticed by the film industry; legend has it that Lana Turner was "discovered" there in 1937.
The golden age of soda fountains continued until the 1950’s where most pharmacists were operators of their own drugstore and soda fountain.
Soda fountain drinks eventually lost their stigma and simply became known as “soft drinks”. Due to the mass production of canned soft drinks and other like beverages, a rapid decline of the soda fountain began in the 1970’s.
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American Soda Fountain may also be known as or be related to American Soda Fountain and Fountain American Soda Exchange Inc.