SEVEN-UP / GRAPETTE BOTTLING COMPANY

The Seven Up Bottling Company of Bristol, TN is established in 1940.(4) The owner of the company Wiley R. McCoy, who had started bottling Seven Up in Johnson City, TN, would move to Bristol sometime after 1939, according to the Johnson City directory, to establish the first plant at 24 Eighth Street near the steel bridge.(1) There is no mention of Seven-Up or Wiley McCoy in the 1941 Johnson City directory so I feel it safe to say that the move was sometime in 1940.(2)

The 1942 Bristol city directories list a Samuel W. Williams as being a salesman for the company, and by 1944 Sam Williams is manager.(1) In 1946 there is no mention of Sam Williams all together, because he is listed in the Kingsport City Directories that year as being manager of the Seven-Up Bottling Company in Kingsport, TN.(3) I have long suspected a link between the Seven-Up Bottling Companies of Bristol and Kingsport mainly due to a variation in the Seven-Up bottles and Mission Beverages bottles from the area. This bottle variation has Bristol, Tenn and Kingsport, Tenn in the location for the town name on these bottles, and they both date from the mid to late 1940's. Sam Williams is that connection as it is obvious that he was sent to manage the sister company while Wiley McCoy took care of the Bristol plant.

Unfortunately the joint venture didn't last long at all, as Sam is listed as being advertising manager for Seven-Up after the Kingsport plant is no longer listed leading me to believe that he is back at the Bristol plant.(3) This is confirmed by the 1951 Bristol directory which has him listed as employee, Samuel W. Williams would eventually leave Seven-Up to go to work for The Canada Dry Bottling Company of Bristol.(1) Seven-Up Bottling Company would remain at the Eighth Street location until between 1951 and 1953 when they show up at their final location at 1406 State Street.(1) The building still stands and has been converted for other use; however, you can still see where the garage doors have been bricked up. It appears that the Seven Up bottling company went out of business in 1968 as there is not mention of the company after that.(1) Most likely due to the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company's bottling of the brand during the 1970's and 1980's.

This patch of land was once the home of the Seven-Up Bottling Company of Bristol, TN from the early 1940's until 1952 est.

This is the "bottle warehouse" that I have seen on the sanborn maps as being located diagonal of the main bottling plant. You can still see what appears to be a loading dock.

Here is the location of the Seven-Up bottling company from 1952 est. until it's assumed demise in 1968.

7oz Seven-Up "Eight bubble" bottle dated 1940

Bristol 7-UP ad from the early 1940's

9oz Mission Beverages bottle dated 1942

7oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1944

7oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1947 with Bristol, Tenn and Kingsport, Tenn on the back

9oz Mission Beverages bottle dated 1948 with Bristol, Tenn and Kingsport, Tenn on the back

9oz Mission Beverages bottle dated 1949 and a variation of the 1948.

9oz Mission Beverages bottle dated 1951. Technically this bottle shouldn’t exist. The Kingsport, Tenn. branch plant of the Seven Up Bottling Company had been shut down sometime in 1949, yet here is a 1951. Most likely they either had hopes of reopening the branch plant, the glass company applied the wrong back label to this bottle, or these got ordered by mistake somehow.

9oz Mission Beverages bottle dated 1952

7oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1953

7oz Grapette bottle dated 1956

7oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1956

1 pint 12oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1958

1 pint 12oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1959. No I didn’t double post the same bottle. Compare the back label of the 1958 bottle to the 1959, and you will see why I included this one.

16oz Mr. Cola bottle dated 1960. Whoops! This bottle says the company is located in Bristol, VA, this of course is an error, the Seven-Up Bottling Company in Bristol was always located on the Tennessee side of State Street. There are the three variations that I have located so far, I don't think that there any more; however, I could be wrong.

7oz Grapette bottle dated 1964

16oz Mr. Cola bottle, with corrected town information.

10oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1964

16oz Mr. Cola bottle dated 1965. This is the variation with Mr. Cola embossed in the neck.

7oz Grapette bottle dated 1968

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