Clicquot Club Company - Millis, MA - Iconic Factories on Waymarking.com

In Millis, along MA Route 109, is the old factory of the Clicquot Club Company bottling plant, which has a chimney that bears the name "Clicquot."

The factory is on the north side of Route 109, across the street from the strip mall, Milliston Common, and east of the intersection with MA 115.

The building is a long complex, with the Ann & Hope Outlets on the east end, and vacant looking property on the west end. Rising above the building is the chimney.

The letters on the chimney are arranged vertically down the stack. At the top, the chimney flares in steps.

The Clicquot Club Company was established in 1881 and made sparkling cider, at first. Henry Millis had inherited money from his father, Lansing, and invested it in creating a beverage company. He started with sparkling cider, but experimented with other flavorsand added ginger ale a few years later. In 1885, the area that he was in split from Medway, and was named Millis after is family. Millis imported the finest ingredients for his drinks including Jamaican ginger and refined sugar from Cuba. His ginger ale stood out in the field and the company gained recognition. Soon the company spread all over Southern New England. But the expenses were mounting and Millis had to give up his company in 1901.

The new owners took over and began to heavily advertise the sodas. One of the icons of the company was an eskimo, which was used in a weekly radio music variety show. By 1938, soda was sold across the country, and by 1952 they had bottling plants in 100 cities. A Boston Globe article said that from 1910 to 1940, the company was the largest producer of ginger ale in the world. In the 1950s they even distributed internationally to the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Philippines, and South America. They were the first company (1938) to bottle in cans, called a 'cone-top.' They were also the first to put a metal camp on a bottle (1893) and first to sell quart bottles (1934).

The company lasted until 1960, when it was bought by Cott Beverage, who was in turn bought by Canada Dry and Canada Dry 'liquidated' the old Clicquot Club Company. The building - and chimney - remain as a reminder of that company.

Product manufactured here: Clicquot Ginger Ale and other sodas Address: Route 109 Millis, MA United States of America 03054 Web Page: [Web Link]

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