Birthplace of the Coca-Cola Bottle - Terre Haute, IN
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 26.478 W 087° 24.805
16S E 464424 N 4365831
Factory no longer exists, but the site is important to Coke collectors and fans
Waymark Code: WMN44Q
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 12/23/2014
Views: 5
County of site: Vigo County
Location of site: 3rd St. (US 41) & Voorhees St., Terre Haute
Marker erected in 1994 marks the site
marker erected by: The Indiana Historic Bureau, Vigo County Historical Society & The Coca-Cola Company
Marker text: World~famous trademark created in 1915 on this site at Root Glass Company, by Chapman J. Root, T. Clyde Edwards, Earl R. Dean, and Alexander Samuelson. Bottle design selected in national competition.
"Coca-Cola’s history has got a lot of bottle - more than 115 years’ worth, in fact. The world’s favorite soft drink started life as a soda fountain beverage, selling for five cents a glass, but it was only when a strong bottling system developed that Coca-Cola became the world-famous brand it is today.
1894 - A modest start for a bold idea
Mississippi shop owner Joseph A. Biedenharn began bottling Coca-Cola after he was impressed by its sales. He sold the drink to his customers in a common glass bottle called a Hutchinson.
At the time Biedenharn sent a case to Asa Griggs Candler, who owned the Company. Candler thanked him but took no action. One of his nephews already had urged that Coca-Cola be bottled, but Candler focused on fountain sales.
1916 - Birth of the Contour Bottle
Bottlers worried that a straight-sided bottle wasn’t distinctive enough and that Coca-Cola was becoming easily confused with ‘copycat’ brands. Glass manufacturers were approached to come up with a unique bottle design for Coca-Cola. The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, designed with the famous contour shape, which won enthusiastic approval from Coca-Cola in 1915 and was introduced in 1916." ~ Coca-Cola Great Britain