THE SEVEN-UP BOTTLING COMPANY OF KINGSPORT, TENN

The Feburary 18, 1945 Kingsport Times has a job listing for a Salesman to work for the Seven Up Bottling Company, and to apply on Wednesday Feburary 21, 1945.(3) This is the first mention of the Seven-Up Bottling Company of Kingsport located at 312 East Sullivan, Samuel W. Williams listed as manager.(3) The 1942 Bristol city directories list a Samuel W. Williams as being a salesman for the Seven Up Bottling Company of Bristol, and by 1944 Sam Williams is manager of the same company.(2) In 1946 there is no mention of Sam Williams in association with the Bristol company, because he is listed in the Kingsport City Directories that year as being manager of the Seven-Up Bottling Company in Kingsport, TN.(1) 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.(1) 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.(2) By 1949 there is no longer any mention of the Seven Up Bottling Company of Kingsport, TN in the city directory (1), and the last mention in the Kingsport times is 1948, with the location being referred to as the "former Seven-Up Bottling Company" by January 1949.(3)

This is 312 the location of the Seven-Up Bottling Company.

A want ad advertising an opening for a salesman for the 7-UP Bottling Co. This is the first meantion I have found for this company in the Kingsport times.

7oz Seven-Up bottle dated 1947 and has 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.

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