The "Soda Fountain Developer And Cherry Coke Hero: Part I - The Patent," Story

Preface: Those of you reading my story today might have never had a chance to visit a soda fountain for a drink or perhaps a float because you may be too young to know what a soda fountain might have been.  I can remember one favorite soda fountain in my life that I visited quite often in the days of summer as well as weekends during the school year.  As a child I lived a half-block from the Lancaster Railroad Station which had the best soda fountain in the city, as far as I was concerned; great cherry cokes and rootbeer floats.   I got to know the guy who worked there, since I usually spent my allowance at the soda fountain.  But, what made the place so extra-special was the big rack of comic books that sat right inside the door.  They were meant for purchase by those riding the trains, but I usually had to read a copy of each one before they were sold.  Superman and Archie were my favorites.  Most call the soda fountain the device that was used to dispense the carbonated drinks, but to my friends and I, the soda fountain was the counter you sat at on a shiny bar stool to drink your soda. We were something special the days we had a chance to do that!

It was an ordinary day.  Opened my morning paper to page A5 and began reading Jack Brubaker's "THE SCRIBBLER" column.  Title of his column today was "Doctor who invented the soda fountain lived in Lancaster.  Wow!  Guy by the name of John wrote to "The Scribbler" asking him if he ever did an article on Samuel Fahnestock, of Lancaster, who was credited with the first patent on a counter-top soda water dispenser around 1819.  No, "The Scribbler" had never done an article on Dr. Samuel Fahnestock, and yes, the doctor did patent at least one other item besides his "Mineral Water Apparatus," but it was that mineral water apparatus that was the first soda fountain system.  Well, I just had to find out a bit more about him so I began searching on my MacBook Air.  He had very little education until the age of fifteen when new systems were introduced and his progress was rapid.  The following year he began studying Latin and Greek and also studied under his father who was a doctor.  At the age of 18 he began a two year study plan with a Dr. Parrish and others from Philadelphia as well as attending lectures at the University of Pennsylvania from where he graduated in 1825.  While studying with Dr. Parrish he invented the celebrated "sector tonsillarum" or "tonsillatome."  Those are both used by surgeons throughout the world today.  He practiced medicine and surgery with his father for years, while marrying Maria Reigart, from Lancaster, when he was 25.  His medical knowledge was amazing and he created several treatments for scarlet fever and measles.  In 1833 he opened his own medical office and began several experiments.  His work was published in the Philadelphia Spirit of the Times as well as the Lancaster Intelligencer and Journal.  In 1839 his father died from crushed sand in his bladder.  In 1856 he began to investigate homeopathy which is a medical system based on the belief that the body can cure itself.  Four years later he was working at the Lancaster County Almshouse where he practiced homeopathy with great success.  

Dr. Samuel Fahnestock, cherry coke hero!

In 1863, after his mother's death, he moved to Marietta, Pennsylvania which is a small town along the Susquehanna River, near Lancaster.  After the Civil War he moved to Lancaster and began to treat diseases by statuvolence or self-hypnosis. But, there is a bit more to the story of Dr. Samuel Fahnestock that deals with more than being a medical doctor.  All during these years it was common for small-town residents and big-city dwellers to enjoy carbonated beverages at local soda fountains and ice cream saloons.  These places were often housed together with apothecaries and served as a meeting place for people of all ages.  The term "soda water" was first used in 1798 and in 1810 the first patent was issued for the mass manufacture of imitation mineral waters to inventors Simmins and Rundell of Charleston, South Carolina.  A soda fountain patent was first granted to Dr. Samuel Fahnestock in 1819.  Seems he had invented a barrel, fitted with a pump and spigot to dispense carbonated water, and the device was meant to be kept under a counter or hidden.  Viola!!  It was the soda fountain that I knew as a child.  But then in the 1970s fast food joints came along and destroyed my soda fountain.  So, I guess I can thank Dr. Samuel Fahnestock for my chance to sit on a round, spinning, padded bar stool with a cherry coke in front of me with a straw in it while reading a comic book I had borrowed from the rack by the door.  But, Dr. Fahnestock also promoted his seltzer, soda and magnesia et soda at his doctor's office and apothecary.  Seems he also had patented a system where he kept mineral water in stoneware vessels, instead of the traditional copper vessels, to avoid the metallic taste.  He claimed his beverages diminished thirst, lowered body heat and helped the stomach.  Some called his water "artificial mineral water."  To make sure he was the sole producer of his water he took several precautions.  But, that story will have to wait until another day.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.