BLUEFIELD WEST VIRGINIA BOTTLING COMPANIES
Thanks to the Pocahontas Coal Boom of the late 1800's and early 1900's, Bluefield, WV was once one of the most prosperous cities in the Appalachian Coal Fields. Unfortunately this wasn't to last, the coal boom ended leaving Bluefield as it is today, a shell of its former glory. There is much bottling history in this area including their own Brewery in the early 1900’s which was shut down when West Virginia joined the prohibition movement in 1914. Starting with the aptly named Bluefield Bottling Company in the late 1800’s which would eventually become Bluefield Coca-Cola Bottling Company and would be the longest operating bottling company in the city’s history, then we have the Lemon Kola Bottling Works in 1912, which would become the Bluefield Candy Company, the Issac Greenspon Manufacturing Company in 1912, which also made candy during the winter, and finally the Gin-Gera Bottling Company in 1914, which didn’t last too long. There is much history in this town, I only wish the historical society felt the need to preserve more than the homes of prominent citizens while downtown falls in on itself.
Bluefield Bottling Works / Bluefield Coca Cola Bottling Company 1893-1977
Bluefield Brewing Company 1903-1914
Lemon-Cola Bottling Company / Bluefield Candy Company 1912-1925
Issac Greenspon Manufacturing Company 1912-1923
Gen-Gera Bottling Company Inc. 1914-1916
The Craft Memorial Library and the Eastern Regional Coal Archives for the use of their resources in my research.
