The history of Dublin Bottling Works begins in 1891, but the real story begins a few years earlier and 80 miles to the east.
In 1885, the wild frontier town of Waco, Texas, was nicknamed “six-shooter junction.” Wade Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store was a prominent business and popular meeting place in downtown Waco. People came in for everything from flea powder to stationery, from cigars to fountain drinks.
One of Morrison’s employees, pharmacist Charles Alderton, noticed how customers loved the smell of the soda fountain with its many fruit, spice and berry aromas. He wanted to invent a drink that tasted the wonderful way the soda fountain smelled. After much experimentation he finally felt he had hit on “something different.” Patrons at the drug store agreed.
Soon other soda fountains were buying the syrup from Morrison and serving it. People loved the new unnamed drink and would order it by simply calling out “shoot me a Waco!” But Morrison named it Dr Pepper, after the father of a girl he had loved back in his home state of Virginia.
In 1891 Morrison and new partner Robert Lazenby organized the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company in order to sell Dr Pepper as well as other soft drinks.
That same year, while visiting Waco, a Texas businessman by the name of Sam Houston Prim tasted the fountain drink and knew he wanted to sell it through his new Dublin Bottling Works company. An agreement was made between Mr. Prim and Mr. Lazenby, and Dublin became home to the first facility to actually bottle Dr Pepper.
The soda enjoyed steady growth in sales and began to spread in popularity across the country. But it wasn’t until 1904 that Dr Pepper gained real national exposure. Along with other soon- to-be favorites like ice cream cones and hamburgers, Dr Pepper was introduced to the rest of the U.S. and the entire world at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
Over the years, Dublin Bottling Works became known for the Kloster family’s commitment to friendly service and quality products, including the distinctive taste of what came to be called “Dublin Dr Pepper” and a host of other fantastic sodas, all made with pure cane sugar. Although Dublin Bottling Works no longer produces Dr Pepper, we maintain a special relationship and legacy that’s rooted in the life and work ethic of W.P. Kloster.
