Cody’s Place in the Nationwide Soda Water Trend
Just up the North Fork past Wapiti, the historic Sweetwater Spring still gurgles and babbles over moss-covered rocks, just as it has for millennia. In the late 1920s, local resident Edgar D. “Kid” Wilson capitalized on this natural phenomenon, and like many entrepreneurs throughout the American West, he bottled the mineral water for sale. In 1929, the Cody Enterprise published an ad for a case of Sweetwater Spring mineral water for $3.40.
A Nationwide Trend
Drinking soda water was part of a nationwide trend around the turn of the century. Other mountainous areas in the American West were known for their natural mineral springs, which drew tourists and those seeking medical benefits. For example, Ashland, Oregon, installed its famous “Lithia Water” drinking fountains in the downtown park in 1927. Colorado’s Manitou Springs is named for its natural mineral water, which has attracted visitors since at least 1871. And as early as the 1850s, Idaho’s Soda Springs and Hooper Springs were a popular resting spot for travelers on the Oregon Trail, who added sweet flavors to the mineralized water to create an early version of a soda.
At this same time, 19th-century chemists and manufacturers noted the popularity of natural soda springs throughout the West and were attempting to imitate the taste and carbonation of mineral water in the lab. Entrepreneurs began selling imitation soda water at soda fountains and pharmacies. As pharmacists began adding herbal and fruit flavors, soda grew into a popular recreational drink, eventually leading to the invention of Coca-Cola in 1886.
Nationwide, the trend in drinking natural soda water, and soaking in mineral springs, gradually faded as modern medicinal practices developed. In contrast, sweetened soda water has continued to grow into a worldwide industry.
In 1981, the Cody Enterprise reported that the Sweetwater suspension bridge had washed away.
Attempting to Develop Sweetwater Creek
Here in the Cody area, Sweetwater Spring is located up the Sweetwater Creek drainage, about three miles north of the bridge across the North Fork of the Shoshone. Locals have attempted to develop the Sweetwater drainage over the years, usually with nature repeatedly reclaiming the area. The first mining claim in the drainage was filed in 1898, and Edgar “Kid” Wilson built a cabin near the spring by 1915. In cooperation with the Williams family from California, and with a permit from the forest service to open a sanitarium, the original cabin was expanded by a 50-person construction crew to become the Sweetwater Lodge in 1935. The Cody Enterprise reported in May 1935 that “improvements are going forward on Sweetwater Creek … where [F.O. Williams] … is making extensive improvements at the mineral springs owned by a group of Cody people, headed by E.D. Wilson.” At that time, a cable bridge was built across the North Fork, and the investors had high hopes for the mineral water bottling operation. “To date Mr. Williams has shipped to the coast several car loads of health-giving waters … as soon as the medicinal values of the mineral waters have been ascertained, it is possible that many patients will be sent to Wyoming to be cared for at the springs,” the Enterprise reported.
Once the Sweetwater Creek Road, but now a pedestrian and equestrian trail.
But by 1936, when the newly renovated lodge complex was just a year old, spring floods washed out all three access bridges along Sweetwater Creek Road and the Williams family gave up their efforts to operate the sanitarium. Mel and Irene Stonehouse operated the Sweetwater Creek Lodge in the 1960s, and in the 1980s, the Brannon’s opened a popular restaurant there, but by 1995, the lodge complex was largely abandoned because access across the deteriorating bridges was so difficult and dangerous. Then in 2008, the 65,000-acre Gunbarrel Fire destroyed the last of the buildings in the Sweetwater drainage.
An Artifact on Display at the Cody Heritage Museum
The Sweetwater Creek Lodge and bottling operation are now gone, but the Cody Heritage Museum is safeguarding an artifact from the early development of Sweetwater Creek. One of Kid Wilson’s original bottles, produced from Sweetwater Spring in 1928, is on display at the museum. The label is still in good condition and mentions “Nature’s Gift to Humanity: Natural Carbonated Mineral Water” from Sweetwater Creek in Wapiti, Wyoming. The artistic sketch on the label depicts Sweetwater Creek flowing down from Jagger Peak, which is towering at the top of the drainage with lingering patches of snow, just as it looks today.
Amy Hoffman
Curatorial Assistant
Cody Heritage Museum
The Cody Heritage Museum focuses on local Cody history -- and accepts family contributions of artifacts and objects that fit the areas of focus for the museum. Get in touch if you can contribute our growing collection.