CHERO-COLA/NEHI BOTTLING COMPANY

Formerly known as the Coeburn Bottling Company, the Chero-Cola Bottling Company was incorporated on February 4, 1924.(2) The company had already been named this before incorporation as the earliest instance of Chero-Cola Bottling Company appears on the 1922 Sanborn Map, and is confirmed with a listing in the Beverage Blue Book in 1923.(4) In 1924 T. B. Hillman, identified as General Manager, is inquiring about ice making machinery for a new bottling plant.(5) It appears that it was built at the same location on the road between Coeburn and Banner as the plant that he built in 1914 after a fire destroyed his location behind the Coeburn Grocery Company in Coeburn proper.(6)

There is a marked difference between the building that shows up in 1922 and the one at the same location in 1929. Mostly changes from a building with two additions to one single building. The company is listed again in the 1925 Beverage Blue Book, and the name has changed to the Nehi Bottling Company in the 1930 edition, listing a W. B. Banner as manager.(4) The company was re-incorporated as the Nehi Bottling Company on April 29, 1930.(3) I still haven’t found out exactly what happened to this bottling company; however, I do know that the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company which was started in June 1936 was located at the same location that the Nehi Bottling Company formerly was. Did the Depression end up killing off this company or at least forced the owners to sell?











6oz Chero-Cola Soda Water dated 1927










9oz Nehi bottle from Coeburn, VA



This page is only part of a much larger site. To see the rest then just click TAZEWELL-ORANGE.COM



Tazewell-Orange.com and the contents on this site are copyrighted by Joseph T. Lee III except where otherwise noted see Terms of Use.

Special Thanks to: The Abingdon Virginia Historical Society for the use of their resources in my research.

Biblography:

(1) Coeburn, VA Area History 1984-1994: Copyrighted 1994 Coeburn Kiwanis Club

(2) "Annual Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia" published 1925

(3) "Annual Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia" published 1934

(4) Beverage Blue Book 1923, 1925, and 1930

(5) The Iron Age Magazine Volume 113 1924

(6) Mill Supplies Magazine August 1914