NEW MILFORD BOTTLES- DETAILS ON NEW MILFORD DAIRYMAN LIMITED

DETAILS ON NEW MILFORD DAIRYMAN LIMITED

Information about Walter Medlicott and his dairy operation is limited. Needless to say, we have been able to piece together a story albeit marginally.  Here is what we have learned from land records and census records: Walter Medlicott was born in 1892. The Medlicott Dairy farm was located on Chestnut Rd in New Milford Ct in addition to the farm on Chestnut Rd Walter and Myrtle (his wife) owned land on Wellsville Ave in New Milford. A barn and house stood on the property and may have been part of Walter’s dairy operation at one time. We also learned the dairy operation lasted well into the 1940s evidence held at the New Milford Historical Society confirms this. Walter died in November of 1945.  We hope to have more information at a later date. Large embossed letters were a common feature on early 2oth century milk bottles. The bottle above is a store bottle the purchaser would get  5¢ when the bottle was returned.

New Milford, Ct centerpieces- W.N. Noble and Albert Evitts.

No 19th town was complete without a pharmacy and New Milford, Ct had at least three. New Milford City Directories at the New Milford Public Library are incomplete. However, we have been able to piece together some information about two linchpin druggists from the village.  William N. Noble ran a Pharmacy for years in New Milford. Noble’s drug store was located at 16 Bank St. He not only sold drugs but also a fine assortment of “wines and liquors for medicinal purposes.” Noble also had a first-rate soda fountain.  His soda water, according to one contemporary ad was “cold, delicious and refreshing.”  He also sold “fine imported cigars.” Albert Evitts, another well know druggist in town, started his career as a clerk at Charles B. Botsford’s pharmacy. In the 1890s Albert succeeded Botsford.  In his later years, Albert was president of the New Milford Historical Society. We dug all the bottles pictured from dumps in New Milford. Clockwise: W. N. Noble Apothecary New Milford Ct ca 1880s, W. N. Noble Pharmacist New Milford Conn ca 1890s (This bottle still contains medicine) Albert Evitts Druggist New Milford Conn ca 1890s, Evitts’ Drug Store ca 1910s.

FROM NEW MILFORD- TWO HUTCHES

If you collect New Milford bottles, you may have heard of these guys: Humeston, Hunt and Miller. Benjamin F. Humeston was a well-established dealer of soda and liquor from the 1880s to the 1900s. His saloon was located on Railroad St next to Schreyer’s Market and not far from the Housatonic River. The saloon was on the first floor of the New Milford House a hotel Humeston leased from a gentleman by the name of Peter Peterson in the 1870s. Humeston sold a fine assortment of ales, liquors, wines, cigars and tobacco, in addition, to soda such as sarsaparilla and ginger ale.  The  New Milford House many have been destroyed in the 1880s. Records indicate B.F. leased a “new building” at the site in 1887. Twelve years later Humeston’s saloon went through extensive remodeling.  B. F. purchased an oak and mahogany bar- including bar back, foot rails, marble counter and mirrors from R. Rothchilds and Sons Company in New York. The purchase cost Benjamin $780 that’s over $20,000 in today’s money! Hunt & Miller was  the other firm in New Milford and considering the hutches we find the companies sodas must have been some of the town’s most popular drinks. According to one Hunt and Miller ad their line-up of soda consisted of lemon, ginger ale, birch beer and one of the most popular flavors of the 19th century, sarsaparilla. Clark Hunt started his business in Northville where he “kept grocery stock at [the] old Northville homestead… Later he built a store on the place and added a soda business to the enterprise.” In 1890 Hunt teamed with Landsley A. Miller and they open the firm Hunt and Miller. The enterprise was located on Railroad St not far from B.F. Humeston’s place. In 1904 the firm moved to a “5-acre tract on Grove St” owned by Dr Bostwisk.  They tapped the water source on the property, known locally as the Barn Lot Spring, which they used for their bottling and grocery business.  Little is known about Landsley Miller according to land records all the money handling appears to have been carried out by  Clark Hunt with Landsley appearing to have been a background player. This is what we discovered about his partner Clark Hunt. Clark was born October 10th, 1857 to Mr. and Mrs. Merrit Hunt of Northville an area later incorporated into New Milford.  In 1907, at the height of his bottling career, Clark developed cirrhosis of the liver. He was treated by Dr. Bostwick but a year later about midnight Clark died. He was 50 years old. Cirrhosis is associated with alcoholism. Whether Clark was a drinker is unknown. Whether Miller continued the business after Clark’s death is also unknown. Clark left behind his wife and their 14-year-old son, Harold.  The B. F. Humeston to the left appears to have an applied finish. There alsois a lack of venting hole glass dots making it a cruder bottle. The Hunt & Miller appears to have a glass dot almost center in the slug plate. Note, the Hunt & Miller’s sharper embossing. Also, we found both Hutches with their Hutchinson spring stoppers still in place, The Humeston Hutch dates to the 1880s. The Hunt & Miller probably the 1900s.

FRED KIRSCH, BARBER, SALOON KEEPER, TB PATIENT.

Most of Fred Kirsach life is unknown and we can’t be sure when Fred Kirsch became ill with TB but more than likely he was sick for months, possibly years, with this illness.   At present what we know about Fred comes from death records and land records. Fred was born in Germany.  At some point, he moved to New Milford, Ct and eventually opened a barbershop on Bank St that he operated during the mid-1870s.  Fred’s interests extended beyond the length of people’s hair.  Land records also tell us Fred was involved in a mechanical establishment and it’s easy to recognize, demonstrated by the beer (above), that Fred was also involved in the liquor trade.  Death records also confirm Fred’s relationship with the trade, indicating  Fred ran a saloon at the time of his death.  Ultimately we can’t know how the town’s people reacted to Fred’s consumption. Cases were sometimes kept secret as in the case of Ellory McPhelemy who privately died of consumption but who publicly succumbed to diabetes. When Fred died he was being treated by Doctor F. E. King. And though townsfolk may have suspected, Doctor King may have been the only person who knew the true nature of Fred’s illness. An illness he died from at age 47. The Kirsch blob (pictured) dates to the 1880s and comes from one of the oldest dumps we’ve dug in New Milford.  It used a lighting toggle or swing closure. Rust from this closure is apparent around the lip of the bottle.

SAFETY FIRST

More research is needed but this is what we learned from the internet about Henry Donnelly. Henry owned a saloon and was chairman of the Public Safety Committee in his hometown of New Milford, Ct. Donnelly was born in Ireland in 1860.  He died in 1921. Henry and his wife, Florance, had two children.  The beer pictured dates to the early 1900s.

Henry ca 1900.

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Stephen Crowe

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