These light green, round-bottomed bottles are one of the common artifacts found in the Silver Reef area. They held imported ginger ale from Ireland and were often embossed with an address in Belfast or Dublin.
This bottle’s shape is distinctive and was very effective in preserving the “fizz” of its contents. Since bottles of that day were sealed with corks, it was important that those corks did not dry out and shrink. A round-bottomed bottle could not be stood vertically, so with the bottles horizontal, the liquid stayed up against the cork seals, keeping them damp and tight.
The presence of these bottles in Silver Reef shows how connected this remote mining town was to the larger world. In order to arrive here from Ireland, the ginger ale would have had to travel by ship, railcar and finally wagon. And when their journey was through and their contents drunk up, story has it that these thick bottles made excellent, emergency clubs (for defense, of course).
Look for more interesting bottles on display when you visit the Silver Reef Museum.
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