DR. PEPPER BOTTLING COMPANY

The Dr. Pepper Bottling Company began production on the morning of March 23, 1936 at 109-111 North Boone Street with Mr. & Mrs. Rudy B. Williams as owners, John C. Campbell as Sales Manager, Mrs. John C. Campbell as Office and plant supervisor, and Mr. L. M. McMinn as Plant Foreman.(4) The company also employed Mr. Ross Spears and Mr. Vance Wright who were "responsible for sales and services", and Mr. Bill Wright who "Will Assist" I'm assuming the plant foreman.(4) By July 7, 1936 the Johnson City Chronicle reported that the acceptance and growth of the brand was beyond their expectations and that the company covered six counties namely Washington (TN), Carter, Johnson, Green, Unicoi, Sullivan, and part of Hawkins County.(4) By 1941 there has been a change in managers as Roswell H. Spears Jr. takes over the reins.(1)

In 1949 R. B. Williams, who owns the company and is from Greenville, Texas, buys the building across the street at 108 North Boone and moves the company there.(2) This is an interesting tidbit as it shows a link between our area and a fairly common bottle around here. The drink is called Delicious and is a clear embossed deco bottle with Greenville, Texas embossed on the bottom. It turns out my hunch is very much correct, back in the early 1970’s the Kingsport News used to have column called the "Action Line" where people would ask questions of the author and he would find the answers for them. On January 28, 1971 he included in his column a question about the De Licious bottle from Greenville, Texas. His answer was thus, "In 1942 and 1943 the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company in Greenville, Texas, bottled flavored drinks - orange, strawberry, etc. - along with the Dr. Pepper drink. The owner used the name "De Licious". A glass company in Sapulpa, Okla., made the bottles shipped them to Greenville, Texas, and Johnson City , Tenn. (the bottling company in Greenville owned the Johnson City plant) and they were distributed from those two plants. Actually, Greenville bottled the "De Licious" drink before 1942, but Johnson City only had it for two years."(4) They continue to operate at 108 North Boone until being sold to The Royal Crown Bottling Company of Johnson City, TN in the latter part of 1968, according to a December 23, 1968 article in the Johnson City Press.(2) By summer of 1972 Rice Bottling Company has bought the franchise for Dr. Pepper(2) which is why by 1975 Dr. Pepper is being bottled by Pepsi Cola at 905 East Lakeview Drive.(1)

This bottler actually bottled some other brands without indicating their company name on the bottles or in one case claiming to be a different company entirely, which may have had something to do with the wishes of the particular drinks parent company. On this page you will find Nu-Grape and Suncrest bottles that have only the name of the town on them, and not bottling company name, and you will also find Tru-Ade bottles that claim that they were bottled by the Tru-Ade Bottling Company. No such bottling company name has ever shown up in my research as an operating company in Johnson City, TN, in both of these cases I had to try to find who had actually bottled them, it turned out to be Dr. Pepper in both cases. In the 1949 Directory of Tennessee Industries I found that they were bottling Tru-ade and Virginia Dare, then I came across ads that backed up this claim.(3) The finding of the "Rosetta Stone" Five Points Beverages bottle gave me my first link for the Nu-Grape connection, and the knowledge and then photo of the earlier Suncrest Beverages bottle with Dr. Pepper Bottling Company on the back backed that assumption up. Sometimes it takes a lot of foot work and patience to place those mystery bottles, actually I have another Johnson City, Tenn bottle that is a complete mystery listed in my mystery section, go take a look, you might be able to help me solve another of these mysteries.

This building sits just across the street from the lot below and is the first location for the Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Johnson City.

You are looking at the lot where Dr. Pepper of Johnson City was located after 1949, I know that the building isn't original as that building was torn down in 1970.(2)

Grand opening announcement for the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company from March 22, 1936. Just click on the ad to enlarge.

12oz Craig's Root Beer bottle dated 1937. A recently discovered bottle from Dr. Pepper of Johnson City, Tenn. And this one is another one of those instances where the finding of one item actually proves a long held theory, and that is that the embossed Craig’s Better Beverages bottles were actually being used by Dr. Pepper of Johnson City even though there is no town name embossed on them. The back acl on this 1937 variation of the Craig’s Root Beer bottle proves that the connection is very real, and thus this theory is very true. There is a 1938 version of this bottle with a different acl on the back of the bottle.

The bottom of the Craig's Root Beer bottle.

A Craig's Root Beer cap

April 25, 1937 Craig's Root Beer ad

12oz 5 Points Beverages bottle dated 1938. This is the aforemeantioned "rosetta" stone bottle.

12oz 5 Points Beverages bottle dated 1939

6 1/2oz Dr Pepper bottle dated 1939

7oz Virginia Dare Korker bottle dated 1940

12oz Sun Crest bottle dated 1940

Tru-ade bottle dated 1941. I struggled for a long time trying to find out who bottled Tru-ade in Johnson City, only to find out that in a 1949 directory of Tennessee Industries they are listed as being bottled by Dr. Pepper along with Virginia Dare and of course Dr. Pepper.

If you needed more proof then witness this ad from May 2, 1941

A De Licious bottle embossed Greenville, Tex. which was used here in 1942-43

6 1/2oz Dr Pepper bottles dated 1947

6 oz Nu-Grape bottle dated 1951

6oz Dr Pepper bottle dated 1952

10 oz Suncrest bottles the left one is dated 1948 the other is dated 1956. Suncrest was a Nu-grape flavor line

A receipt from the Dr Pepper Bottling Company listing both Tru-Ade, and Suncrest.

6 1/2oz Tru-ade bottle dated 1958

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