Bottled Water

Richmond’s Potent Beverage

Almost 100 years ago, one of Richmond’s best-known products was bottled water. In 1918, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reviewed the status of the local production of bottled water, estimating that 18 million gallons of pure, soft, Lithia waters were taken from local springs, put into bottles and carboys and sold to the thirsty. It added: “Richmond’s pure water has given this city as large a reputation in the markets of the country as anything else that goes from this busy old town.”
One ad proclaimed, “Five Gallons for Five Cents.” It was an industry created to supply pure drinking water, as the paper noted, “…to avoid James River Mud.” Even after the city installed its filtering system, “furnishing water good enough to bathe in and cook with, that which comes from the springs is preferred for drinking purposes.”
As early as 1897, the City Directory listed six companies and 14 dealers under the heading of Mineral Waters.
Fonticello Springs, overlooking the city of Richmond and near Forest Hill Park, was one prime source of spring water. Advertisements pointed out that this product “was awarded the First Premium by a committee of experts, including State Chemist Mr. R. H. Gaines at the State Exposition in 1894, as the purest and best Lithia water.”
Among its advantages: “It dissolves Urinary deposits, Stone and Gravel. It prevents Uric Acid deposits. It eliminates the Toxins of Typhoid and other Fevers. It promotes Digestion.”
Because of the great number of Indian relics found in the area, it was theorized that “they knew the curative powers of the water and made the spring a sort of sanitarium or place of resort.” A pamphlet listed five testimonials from prominent Richmond physicians and surgeons who prescribed the water, plus 25 additional endorsers. There was always a good supply as the water gushed up through a crevice in a deep granite bed, producing a flow of 15,000 to 20,000 gallons every 24 hours.
Skeptics questioned the medical and healthful claims that were made about the use of Lithia waters, as well as the claims of many patent medicines. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food Act to put a stop to some of the outrageous statements made by the numerous drug companies. One survey of Lithia waters said that in order to obtain any therapeutic dose of lithium, you would have to drink from 150,000 to 225,000 gallons a day.
Eventually, the market for Lithia waters dried up.

Ray Schreiner is a volunteer at the Valentine Richmond History Center and the Virginia Historical Society, and is an avid reader of old newspapers.