Historic Bottle Glass from the Yeaton-Walsh Site

Hello everyone! I’m Karla Espinoza, a current master’s student in applied archaeology at California State University, San Bernardino. I came to Strawbery Banke Museum this summer hoping to investigate more of New England’s archaeology, especially because it varies so tremendously from the West coast. During the field school lab session, I chose to research bottle glass.

Photo by David J. Murray, ClearEyePhoto.com 

Glass can provide a great amount of information about the past. From its maker’s mark to the manner in which it was blown, archaeologists and enthusiasts are able to date, trace, and even find out the contents of what the container once held. Here at Strawbery Banke Museum, we are taking advantage of the many ways glass speaks to us, and I utilized a few of the bottles found during the excavation of the Yeaton-Walsh House that was home to the Welch family from the 1850s through 1909. During my research, I had the opportunity to construct a small timeline of bottles that date between the mid-18th century to the mid-20th century. Some of the most interesting finds were the bottles that date to the period between the mid-19th century to the beginning of the 20th century and that suggest a possible connection to the Welch family during their almost 60-year period of occupation of the house. The pictures below will begin with the earliest bottles and end with the most recent.


This is a typical square shape bottle from the mid-17th century, most commonly known as a case bottle because it was designed to be kept and shipped in cases. These case bottles often held spirits such as rum and gin.


Research suggests that this is likely a medicine/chemical vial from the 18th or early 19th century. A beautiful aqua-green, it was free blown and has a pontil scar from when it was blown. It is very tiny with a height of 1.275", a diameter of 0.875", and a cylindrical body and neck. These types of vials are more difficult to date since people tended to reuse them, especially during times of shortage.


This bottle was from medicine maker Andrew Judson White and it approximately dates to the late 1800s. Its contents were most likely derived from botanical ingredients.


A few fragments of Mrs. Winslows Soothing Syrup bottles were found on site, which date from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. This is particularly interesting since this syrup gained infamy when it was discovered that its two main ingredients were alcohol and morphine. Despite the dangers of this over the counter remedy it was sold as late as the 1930s.

Dr. Thompson's eye water became popular in 1795 and was said to have been sold for almost 100 years until the passage of the Food and Drug Act of 1906. The main ingredients of this topical solution were zinc sulfate, alcohol, and of course opium.


This particular bottle was one of the most interesting and difficult to research since there was very little to go off of except a couple of general features. I found about five bases of this kind among the glass recovered from the dig. After a couple of hours of research, I found one of these bottles for sale online. The online example was intact and had its original label on it which read "Spongia." Spongia is made from roasted sea sponge and it was popularly used to treat a variety of ailments such a breathing issues and coughs. Its general features suggest that this bottle fragment may date to the 19th century.


One of the most interesting finds was this small vial from the mid-20th century. Although its contents are unknown, the cork and a small brush are still inside along with remnants of what was most likely a homeopathic preparation.


This unique eye-wash glass cup was only one of the few glass item found intact during the excavation. Eye-wash cups were most popular during the late 1800s and early 1900s.


This bottle base was a favorite among many of us since the little devil imprint led many of us to believe that this bottle may have once contained alcohol. We were wrong. It was Pluto Water, which was a very strong laxative water popular in the early 20th century.


Working with glass recovered from Strawbery Banke has been both rewarding and extremely informative. I have been very lucky to have been able to contribute a little piece of the puzzle to this magnificent museum. I look forward to applying what I have learned here back home in California. Thank you Strawbery Banke Museum and staff!