Not Hogwarth’s —- It’s Hoggards of Ottawa! Besserer Street History

George Hoggard manufactured carbonated water called deep rock Lithia water, and also produced ginger ale and cream soda. Instead of having a cork for a stopper, it had inside its neck a glass ball much like a marble. Pressure of the liquid forced the ball up into the mouth of the bottle, where it acted like a stopper. His brother William patented it in the late 1800s/

patent list for Wiliam Hoggard Ottawa for his stopper invention

So what was Lithia water? It’s defined as a type of mineral water characterised by the presence of lithium salts (as lithium carbonate or lithium chloride). Natural lithia mineral spring waters are rare, and there are few commercially bottled lithia water products.
Between the 1880s and World War I, the consumption of bottled lithia mineral water was popular and during this era, there was such a demand for lithia water that there was a proliferation of bottled lithia water products. However, only a few were natural lithia spring waters. Most of the bottled lithia water brands added lithium bicarbonate to spring water and called it lithia water.
With the start of World War I and the formation of the new US government food safety agency, mineral water bottlers were under scrutiny. The new agency posted large fines against mineral water bottlers for mislabelled, misrepresented and adulterated products. These government actions and their publicity, along with public works that made clean tap water readily accessible, caused the American public to lose confidence and interest in bottled mineral water.
Lithia water contains various lithium salts, including the citrate. An early version of Coca-Cola available in pharmacies’ soda fountains called Lithia Coke was a mixture of Coca-Cola syrup and Bowden lithia spring water. The soft drink 7Up was named “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda” when it was formulated in 1929 because it contained lithium citrate. The beverage was a patent medicine marketed as a cure for hangover. Lithium citrate was removed from 7Up in 1948.
Physicians used to hail lithium water as a healer’s delight. A Congress of Physicians at Lithia Springs in 1887 produced a report recommending the water to treat, among other conditions, kidney stones, jaundice, rheumatism, headaches, typhoid fever, indigestion, eczema, dropsy and “diseases of delicate women.”
Hoggard’s Fire

On June 29 of 1897 three horses were burned at a fire in the stable of Mr. Geo. Hoggard on Besserer street, about 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The horses were valued at about $200. Mrs. T. Martin also lost 5O sacks of salt, a cutter, 4 single sleighs and a large double sleigh. Mr. Hoggard had $1200 of insurance and Mrs. Martin had none.

Mrs. Patterson also had a quantity of wood which was stored in one of the sheds. The fire originated at the corner of Mr. Hoggard’s stable. Some children are supposed to have been playing with matches or smoking in the loft of the stable. The building was in flames when the alarm was given. Lines of hose were laid by the men from stations 3, 4. 5 and 8 and did excellent work. The blaze was soon under control and by 5.20 the fire was out. The sheds and buildings that are burned were only cheap structures and the loss upon them will he very slight. About $600 will cover the loss.

There was a lack of police there at the beginning of the fire. The Buffalo Bill show had taken several of the members of the force. It was not long however before the crowd which had hampered the firemen were forced back. It is thought the fire began in the stable where the horses were and the animals became smothered and fell to the floor and as a consequence could not be removed. The fire was in among a lot of dry frame buildings and might have resulted much more seriously. It was caught at the right time. Alarms were sent in from three different boxes and this brought out all the reels of the city.