# Some finds from Peoria, Illinois



## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

I'm moving into a van partly to dig bottles nationwide*, so I'll soon be selling the bulk of my collection to a local buyer. I wanted to document them before I go, so I'm taking pictures of them all first. I'll keep updating as time allows.

First up is this refrigerator water bottle embossed with penguins. I found it in my first month of digging in Peoria a couple winters ago.

(*I want to dig bottles in all 50 states. If you can help/want a digging partner sometime the next couple of years, feel free to contact me.)


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## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

No idea what this is, but there's something real nasty looking inside.


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## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

Nothing too special, just a Peoria Christmas Coke that straddles the line between aqua and clear.


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## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

A broken Roszell's half pint. I'm a bit of a broken local until I find a whole one hoarder. I gotta get better about that.


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## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

Producer's Dairy third pint, the oddest sized dairy bottle I've found, but I assume they're somewhat common.


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## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

A toy car I found yesterday.


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## Drift (Aug 21, 2020)

A Kerr self sealing wide mouth Mason jar and a Roszell's quart.


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## mike garrett (Aug 26, 2020)

all bottles made after 19201


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## historic-antiques (Aug 26, 2020)

Drift said:


> A Kerr self sealing wide mouth Mason jar and a Roszell's quart.



Some nice bottles!  Love that penguin bottle, I NEVER saw a penguin embossed on a bottle before - old or new.  What's even more impressive at this point is that you are giving up home comforts to travel to all 50 states to hunt for bottles!!  Wow!!!  That is dedication!!  Where will you store all the bottles you find?  Will you also be going to country auctions and antique shops (lots of good finds there!)?  Will you have WiFi in your van?

If/when you hit Chicago, there's an old, large dump where I found hundreds of 1870-1900 bottles during the early 1970s before they fenced-in construction sites.  On a large plot at the corner of Western and Belmont Avenues, Riverview Amusement Park was built during the early 1900s, and from 1908 to around 1969, it was one of the nation's best amusement parks.  I remember going there as a kid during the 1960s.  You can look it up on the internet and there are maps of the area online.

It closed by the late 1960s and construction of DeVry College, Jewel supermarket etc. carried on.  Lane Technical H.S. is also in that same area, built during the early 1900s too.   Little did people know, a very large Chicago city garbage dump was UNDERNEATH the entire area.  There is no access to that dump in these newer areas that now house these buildings.  

However,  one side of the area (west side?) is bordered by a branch of the Chicago River.  You can still see stuff sticking out from its banks (as I recall around 1973).  You could still dig there for a day or two, into the banks, under the newer pavements.  Don't dig too long, somebody is likely to kick you out.  And, you'd have to be careful not to dig too far into the dump, cave-ins could be risky.  

I think the banks rise around 5-10+ feet above the river.  I remember digging "caves" into the dump 5-7 feet below the surface (not directly from the river bank).  Further down you go, the older the stuff is.  During my 3 years digging there, I don't ever recall finding an ABM bottle - all were applied lipped.       

This might give you a few days of digging and visiting Chicago!  But be very careful and don't stay too long, and your "caves" shouldn't be too deep into the river banks.  A few times, my "caves" fell on me, but I was not more than 3-4 feet in, and about 5 feet deep.   I am not too familiar with how the situation is now, but if you're in the area, you might want to check it out!  Inexpensive motels are around or along I-90/94 (if you get tired of your van for a couple of days!), about 4-5 blocks from the dumpsite.

When I think of the bottle treasures underneath the present buildings on top of the area, I want to cry, but is it what it is - "progress"....  There were other bottle diggers there until construction crews fenced the area in, but only about 5% of the site was ever dug into by bottle collectors.

Good luck, I admire your adventurous spirit!  Please every so often, "report" to us on this forum about your travels and finds!!


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## historic-antiques (Aug 26, 2020)

Drift said:


> A Kerr self sealing wide mouth Mason jar and a Roszell's quart.



Hi Drift,  you might be interested:









						another recently discovered 19th century chicago dump site provides a wealth of artifacts
					

Antique American Architectural Artifacts




					www.urbanremainschicago.com


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## Drift (Aug 26, 2020)

historic-antiques said:


> Some nice bottles!  Love that penguin bottle, I NEVER saw a penguin embossed on a bottle before - old or new.  What's even more impressive at this point is that you are giving up home comforts to travel to all 50 states to hunt for bottles!!  Wow!!!  That is dedication!!  Where will you store all the bottles you find?  Will you also be going to country auctions and antique shops (lots of good finds there!)?  Will you have WiFi in your van?
> 
> If/when you hit Chicago, there's an old, large dump where I found hundreds of 1870-1900 bottles during the early 1970s before they fenced-in construction sites.  On a large plot at the corner of Western and Belmont Avenues, Riverview Amusement Park was built during the early 1900s, and from 1908 to around 1969, it was one of the nation's best amusement parks.  I remember going there as a kid during the 1960s.  You can look it up on the internet and there are maps of the area online.
> 
> ...



Wow!! Thank you for all of this info, it's very appreciated! I will definitely report my finds on this forum regularly.   

I try not to tunnel too much, I'm paranoid about that from digging in Peoria where the soil is very sandy and prone to cave ins. Imagine my surprise watching a Digger Dave Beeler video wherein he cautions people about digging in Peoria, how it's not worth killing yourself for bottles, and you should never dig there alone... when I've done 99.5+% of my digging there unaccompanied. It's a lot more work, but I usually dig out the overhang if it seems unstable at all. In the winter it's not so bad.

I'll definitely check out those spots when I'm in Chicago next. I'll do some research and hope they're still accessible!

As for where to store them, I imagine I'll be selling the majority as I travel, connecting with local collectors and shops as I go. What I care about most are Peoria bottles. Everything else, so far, isn't that hard to part with. But I haven't broken the 1880's/90's yet. Once I get into some pontiled stuff it might be a different story. I could see myself renting a storage unit at some point. I don't know if I would ever do a physical storefront, but I'd be open to the idea someday. I will probably invest in a portable wifi booster or a cell phone plan with a good hotspot deal. Satellite internet should be more accessible and cheaper by next year, too.


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## historic-antiques (Aug 26, 2020)

Drift said:


> Wow!! Thank you for all of this info, it's very appreciated! I will definitely report my finds on this forum regularly.
> 
> I try not to tunnel too much, I'm paranoid about that from digging in Peoria where the soil is very sandy and prone to cave ins. Imagine my surprise watching a Digger Dave Beeler video wherein he cautions people about digging in Peoria, how it's not worth killing yourself for bottles, and you should never dig there alone... when I've done 99.5+% of my digging there unaccompanied. It's a lot more work, but I usually dig out the overhang if it seems unstable at all. In the winter it's not so bad.
> 
> ...



If you're near an urban area, or even a smaller town that has a McDonald's or Taco  Bell, or even a small college, you will probably be able to use their WiFi . 

Yes, exactly, dig out the overhangs as you dig a cave.  I did that too, and I often found some nice things in these overhangs!   

I don't remember any Peoria bottles, but sellable bottles?  You would get plenty at this dump.   I've found some bottles worth $200-$400 - not incredible, but a lot more than what they were worth in the 1970s.   

About 12 years ago I sold about 300 of my most common bottles for about $800 to somebody who wanted to sell on Craigslist.  Stupid me, afterwards I realized I sold my miniature whiskies, they were hidden in a box with a bunch of other things!  

I never found a whole pontiled bottle, maybe one graphite pontiled bottle (I'm not an expert on pontils).   Thus, I think most bottles in this dump date from around 1870-1900.  

I've found  3-molded bottles, turn mold bottles, lots of cobalt-blue hand-made Bromo Seltzers, milk bottles, crown-top (but applied) beers, drugstore bottles, some large whiskies, 6 or so jugs, a small Macomb IL. jug, Indian pennies, a white figural binocular candy bottle, a Teddy's Pet mini "baby's bottle" (Theodore Roosevelt's campaign - around 1902), hutch sodas, early Pabst and Schlitz beers, large cobalt blue Lactopeptine medicine, Dr. Hoofland's, Pond's, etc.  A really neat place to search!!!

If you have any questions or need advice, just let me know!


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## Drift (Aug 26, 2020)

historic-antiques said:


> If you're near an urban area, or even a smaller town that has a McDonald's or Taco  Bell, or even a small college, you will probably be able to use their WiFi .
> 
> Yes, exactly, dig out the overhangs as you dig a cave.  I did that too, and I often found some nice things in these overhangs!
> 
> ...



Those all sound like awesome finds! Lots of great pottery/crocks/jugs came out of Illinois, even just between Macomb, Monmouth, and Peoria. I find pieces from there all the time. Still wishing for my first whole one.

Are you familiar with a Sargent's Drug Store bottle from Chicago? I found one in clear on Sunday that I can only find in amber online. I was actually digging with a guy I sold that penguins bottle to. It was a favorite of mine, but I'm always happy giving a bottle a good home knowing I can't possibly keep them all. I posted a few pics of the Sargent's here: 




__





						Found a Sargent's Drug Store bottle from Chicago today
					

Did some digging in Peoria today with a digger I just met. We did pretty well. I'm sure we dug over a hundred bottles. This was perhaps my best find. I've never heard of it before, it's blown, and I can only find it in amber online.



					www.antique-bottles.net
				




A couple years ago, I eyeballed an Indian Head penny on top of a recent burnpile where some antique furniture met it's fate. At least that got saved. I'm working on building a sifter so I can catch all the marbles, coins, tokens, and buttons I'm sure I'm leaving behind.

My only miniature whiskey is an Old Quaker. Machine made, but it made the cut when I was culling my collection down from a few hundred last month to less than ten today.


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## historic-antiques (Aug 26, 2020)

Yes, the name Sargent's sounds familiar, but I'm not sure.  And yes, glass bottles aren't the only valuable containers - we've got lots of fine pottery jugs and bottles out there!  

Oh, you already sold that penguin bottle!  I didn't think it would take long!  On hutch sodas, I've seen elephants, bears, horses, embossed on them (found in the Riverview dump) but NEVER a penguin!  That's very nice of you to find a good home for your bottles!  

I had around 6-7 mini whiskies, maybe 2-3 had embossing on them.  They looked neat!  It was my mistake to sell them.  Yes, the smart thing to do - make a sifter.  Never thought of that!  But you have to choose how much time you expend on sifting, how much on digging bottles, and if it's worth the time to sift.  Hopefully, the dirt will quickly and freely go through the mesh!  The coins I found were not in very good condition at all.  Not worth really keeping.  But, marbles, buttons (found both) and tokens are and may be better preserved.   I also found old bone toothbrushes, a bronze or copper belt buckle, shoes (rotted), old spectacles, etc.


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## Patchwerker (Aug 26, 2020)

Drift said:


> A broken Roszell's half pint. I'm a bit of a broken local until I find a whole one hoarder. I gotta get better about that.


I do that sometimes too ‍


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## Drift (Aug 27, 2020)

historic-antiques said:


> I also found old bone toothbrushes, a bronze or copper belt buckle, shoes (rotted), old spectacles, etc.



Ever find dentures? I haven't, but the person I was digging with on Sunday did, so I got to keep them!


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## Drift (Aug 27, 2020)

I stuck them in a half gallon Ball Mason jar with some animal teeth I found and a doll arm I dug. Gonna try selling it as a decorative art piece to some local horror and oddity fans/weirdos.


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## Drift (Aug 27, 2020)

And a companion piece: Antique baby doll leg in a Vees Bird Foods jar.


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## Drift (Aug 27, 2020)

Here's some Peoria brokes I need to find whole examples of. I should also find the strength to pitch these.

The only one I don't know is the C.C. Peoria bottle. I think I found a slick hutch once with just C.C. on the bottom.


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## Drift (Aug 28, 2020)

Here's a Derges Independent Bottling Works bottle. The Derges, I discovered recently while walking through a cemetery, are buried less than a mile from me. Multiple generations were bottlers. I plan to respectfully visit their graves and photograph their bottles next to their markers. I plan to do the same with the Leisy Brothers and other bottlers at rest in the same cemetery in this very rich city for history. Perhaps I could even talk them into letting me guide one of their walking tours!


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## Drift (Aug 28, 2020)

Here's a cute little perfume (I imagine) and a couple bottles from Chicago: a Lakeshore Honey and a Franco American Hygenic Co. I'm not familiar with the latter. Is anybody else? I can't find one online that's this small.


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## Drift (Aug 28, 2020)

Got out for a little bit today, but it's just too hot to get serious. I found this...interesting base on a broken Peoria bottle. And a marble.


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## Drift (Sep 7, 2020)

Got out from 9-6 today. I am completely exhausted, but had a great day of digging with a friend. My favorite find of the day was a VIM (V for Victory M for Milk) Producer's Dairy bottle from Peoria. I almost bought one I saw for sale once thinking I wouldn't find one myself. Unfortunately, it's already lost a good deal of paint, but it was exciting to pull out. I also found a Nonspi bottle that's new to me --- it's an antiperspirant. And I found a couple marbles, and my friend gave me the one he found. It took some of the sting off him finding an unlisted BIM Peoria drug store bottle! I'm hoping he'll show that one off here, I'm interested if anybody here has seen it since the central Illinois bottles book came out 30 years ago.


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## Drift (Sep 8, 2020)

And here's that Johnson Drug Co. bottle from Peoria that he pulled out. Has anybody here seen it before? It says "A Safe Place To Trade".


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## Drift (Sep 9, 2020)

Another new one for me from the other day, I found this nice blown Dr. Hayden's Viburnum Compound.


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## Drift (Sep 13, 2020)

I got out for a little over five hours today. Two blown Illinois crowntops made my day. I got my oldest Derges bottle, a McMasters and Derges I.B.W. from Peoria, and a Seipps beer from Chicago. Found all the usual stuff. Six spark plugs, more than normal, so I guess I collect those now too! I thought I found my first Sauer's Extracts but it ended up being cracked when I rinsed it out. I know they're common, but I'm always happy to find a first.

Would have taken some in situ pictures but my phone bill's overdue and off so I left it at home. Priorities.


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## Drift (Sep 14, 2020)

I love finding the miscellaneous stuff...I eyeballed the buckle in the creek yesterday, it was my first find of the day. I also found the 65 cent bottle tag yesterday, does anybody know what it would have been on? A store display or vending machine perhaps? And my buddy found the brass 6 the last time we dug and promptly donated it to me. Thanks, Dalton!

Edit: I don't know my buckles. Can anybody guesstimate an age on it?


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## Drift (Sep 14, 2020)

Call me crazy but I hiked two miles in rubber boots today just to go back for this ginger ale ACL I forgot yesterday, because it's from Peoria. That bottom lettering is a goner, but hopefully the design and logos stay.

My wildest find today...somebody was cleaning up garbage in the creek. I've done tons of that there myself, it's how I found the dumps and got into bottle digging. Was beginning to think nobody else cared about the wildlife and people getting hurt on glass and jagged metal. Made my day. I got bit up, though. I skipped the pour Listerine on yourself to repel mosquitos trick. It really does work, folks.


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## Drift (Sep 19, 2020)

This was today's best find, along with a Star Union Products crowntop from Peru, IL with a small lip chip.


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## RoyalRuby (Sep 20, 2020)

Drift said:


> This was today's best find, along with a Star Union Products crowntop from Peru, IL with a small lip chip.


Funny how I read about so many finding marbles when dumping, I finally came across one while digging through a spot in my back woods that looks very much like the blue and white one you found back on the 13th (post #26).....


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## Drift (Sep 20, 2020)

RoyalRuby said:


> Funny how I read about so many finding marbles when dumping, I finally came across one while digging through a spot in my back woods that looks very much like the blue and white one you found back on the 13th (post #26).....



Did you post it? I have another that looks pretty similar but different. I'd love to find a lot more marbles than I do. I'm still working on filling my first half pint bottle with them. Makes you mad when you hear about somebody finding dozens in a day!


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## Drift (Sep 20, 2020)

Dalton and I pulled out a few hundred whole ones today. I've been up since three and we dug from seven something in the morning until six something at night. I can post a few highlights tomorrow, my bed is calling.


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## RoyalRuby (Sep 21, 2020)

Drift said:


> Did you post it? I have another that looks pretty similar but different. I'd love to find a lot more marbles than I do. I'm still working on filling my first half pint bottle with them. Makes you mad when you hear about somebody finding dozens in a day!


No I didn't post about it, here's the one I found, it came from a dump that is mostly late 60's and mid 70's, so I'm figuring it would be from the same time period, but who knows how long it was in someone's possession before being thrown out.


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## Drift (Sep 22, 2020)

RoyalRuby said:


> No I didn't post about it, here's the one I found, it came from a dump that is mostly late 60's and mid 70's, so I'm figuring it would be from the same time period, but who knows how long it was in someone's possession before being thrown out. View attachment 212136



Different than mine! Nice marble. Here's almost all of the ones I've found.


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## Drift (Sep 22, 2020)

Here's that Star bottle from Peru, IL I found a few days ago, an insulator and dry cleaner bottle Dalton dug a couple days ago, and an Arcana from Peoria. The Star and Arcana both have chips. I'm hopeful to dig better examples of those, but I'm still happy to have them! Dalton found a few really nice sodas and beers.

I've carried home a couple hundred of the rejects to sell and give away to hippies at the drum circle on Friday. Hoping to get back out to dig a few times this week.


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## Drift (Sep 22, 2020)

Oh, and the slick pictured is a blown Blue Ribbon flavoring extract from Peoria with just enough label left to identify it. And the original cork.

It would have said Oakford & Fahnestock Blue Ribbon Flavoring Extracts".


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## Drift (Sep 28, 2020)

Yesterday I dug this neat octagonal Barbasol jar and a nice blown slugplated Singer from Peoria. Missing a little bit of the top, unfortunately, but still a daymaker for me.


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## Drift (Sep 30, 2020)

I poked around a little bit yesterday but I'm dealing with a huge cave in so didn't make much progress. I did pull three firsts though, so I consider it worth my while.

I dug an Ingram's Shaving Cream I had figured for a Vicks or Noxzema, a small corktop Phenique from St. Louis, and I eyeballed a cool glass olive jar lid from Spain on the way out.


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## Drift (Sep 30, 2020)

Yesterday I also brought home these kitty cats I found on Sunday's dig. I think the black cat was a pencil holder.


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## Drift (Sep 30, 2020)

As well as these headless monstrosities.


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