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Rich and Tangy History of the World's Largest Catsup Bottle! |
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It all started way back in 1891. A group of Collinsville businessmen raised $5,000 and created the Collinsville Canning and Packing Company. The struggling little plant went through a few different owner/operators until 1907 when the Brooks brothers, Everett and Elgin, took over. They operated under the name of Triumph Catsup and Pickle Company.
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The ghost sign image of the company
name can still be seen on the north wall of the old brick factory. Soon
the name became Brooks Tomato Products Company. In 1920, the brothers sold out to American Cone and Pretzel Company. Then in 1933 the G.S. Suppiger Company purchased the plant. The Brooks label was retained by each new owner. The product line had acquired an excellent reputation over the years. The catsup factory had great success, surviving the Great Depression, and growing by leaps and bounds through the 1940s. The plant produced much more than catsup, including chili beans, spaghetti, hominy, soups, and other sauces. |
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The
"Brooks
Tabasco Flavor Catsup," as it was named, was extremely popular. So much
so that the McIlhenny Tabasco Company threatened a lawsuit claiming the
term "tabasco" was their copyrighted property.
Not wanting to
fight a costly legal
battle, the Suppigers changed the name to "Brooks Old Original Tangy
Catsup." |
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The company
promoted its product well. In Belleville and St. Louis, big 12-ft high
Brooks catsup bottles, adorned with neon,
slowly rotated while perched
on sign poles.
Brooks was even advertised in Sportsman's Park, home of the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns baseball teams. At one time it was
America's #1
seller among tangy catsups, and in the greater St. Louis area it out
sold
all other brands combined by 2 to 1. |
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In 1947, records show that the
W.E. Caldwell Company of Louisville, Kentucky, entered a contract to
build
the 100,000 gallon water tower. Final drawings were approved in 1948
and
the World's Largest Catsup Bottle was completed in October of
1949.
A water tower was needed for plant operations and to supply water to the new fire protection sprinkler system. Gerhart S. Suppiger, then president of the company, suggested the tower be built in the distinctive tapered shape of their catsup bottles. Everyone was amused by the idea back then, little realizing they would create a landmark that would be world renown 50 years later. |
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In 1959,
Brooks Foods merged with P.J. Ritter Company and the Suppigers sold
their
share of the company in 1960. Catsup bottling operations were moved to
Indiana in the early 1960s, and the old factory was then used as a
warehouse.
Old-timers in town still lament the sweet smell of catsup that no
longer
wafted through town. In 1993, Curtice-Burns, Inc., the then-parent company of Brooks Foods, decided to sell the property. The water tower's future was in jeopardy and the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group was formed. Brooks was willing to deed the tower to the city of Collinsville, but the city declined the offer citing the cost of repairing and repainting the structure was far too much for the city's budget. The Preservation Group started a nationwide "Paint It!" campaign and began to raise the needed funds. |
| To relive the experience as the Catsup Bottle is returned to its original glory, check out our Restoration page. And for a more detailed look at how it all happened and what's happening now, click into our News & Info archive. |
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