#44 Maine Thing To Do - Try the Water

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Poland Spring is a brand of bottled water manufactured by a subsidiary of Nestle It was founded in 1845 by Hiram Ricker. Poland Spring water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine, including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in Poland, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, and White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation.. Recently, the Poland Spring brand has adopted a bottle using 30% less plastic, as did the other Nestlé Waters North America brands.

It is the top-selling spring water brand in America.

The brand has its origins in the later nineteenth century. Jabez Ricker had bought land in 1794 and two days later travelers knocked on the door asking for breakfast. Repeated requests by other travelers led him to open an inn known as the Mansion House in 1797. In 1844, Jabez’s grandson, Hiram Ricker, drank a lot of the spring water and became convinced that it had cured him of chronic dyspepsia. The inn had grown to a resort, and his discussions with guests led them to also praise the drinking water. In this period, it was quite fashionable to “take the waters” for almost all illnesses, causing an uptick in business. The Rickers soon began bottling the water. The inn grew into a significant resort in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but the Ricker family lost control of the company during the 1930s. A resort is still operated on the site.

from polandsprings.com

The Poland Spring® Brand Natural Spring Water story starts about 13,000 years ago when a glacier retreated in what is now Maine. The brand’s beginnings in recorded history took place in 1793 when the Ricker family settled and opened an inn near the original spring.

Descendents of the feudal and knightly Riccar family of Saxony, the Riccars drifted across Europe, settling on the British island of Jersey before finally arriving in the U.S. Two brothers, George and Maturin Riccar, arrived in the middle of the seventeenth century and settled at Chocheco (Dover), New Hampshire. The Rickers of Poland Spring are direct descendents from Maturin, the younger of the brothers.

Poland Spring - About Us & History - Spring Water History - Nestle The water’s purity and perceived health benefits gained accolades as the 19th century dawned, and the Rickers Wayside Inn grew into a celebrated health spa. Hiram Ricker began to bottle the spring water in 1845. By 1904 the water had gained international praise earning medals of excellence and top honors at the World’s Columbian Expositions and the World’s Fair. In 1907 the first spring and bottling houses were completed and in 1913 the Riccar (i.e. Ricker) Inn opened. The Poland Spring resort went on to host US presidents (Cleveland, Taft) movie stars (Mae West), and business leaders (Joseph Kennedy).

Through the great depression, two world wars, and the social upheavals of the 60’s generations of Northeasterners continued to rely on the Poland Spring brand for delicious, natural spring water. Today, Poland Spring® Brand Natural Spring Water is collected from several spring water sources in Maine. These sources have been selected for their similarity and compatibility in taste and mineral composition. Adding additional sources allows the brand to meet demand while protecting the environment.

from Poland Springs Preservation Society

POLAND SPRING HISTORY

The story of Poland Spring begins in the late eighteenth century when Jabez Ricker moved his family from Alfred Maine to Bakerstown, present day Poland. Jabez had owned land adjacent to the Shaker community in Alfred and when they pressed him to acquire his land, he relented and made the land swap. Shortly after the Ricker’s arrival in Bakerstown, some travelers knocked on the door looking for a place to stay. In 1794 the family began operating an inn on the property and by 1797 opened a brand new building - the Wentworth Ricker Inn. Thus the beginning of a tradition of operating an inn on the grounds that continues today.

In 1844, Hiram Ricker, after suffering from dyspepsia for many years, went to the fields to oversee the men on the farm. For several days he drank only water from the spring on the edge of the property and after consuming the water for ten days, he became cured of his illness. While this is not the first time members of the Ricker family drank from the spring when they were ill, this was the first time that water was perceived as having medicinal properties. In 1845, the Rickers began sharing water and by 1859 made their first commercial sale of the water. In marketing the resort as a country getaway with recreational activities and having water with health benefits, the Rickers slowly grew their enterprise.

In 1876, the family opened the Poland Spring House which shortly became a popular attraction for the country’s social and political elite. The hotel, eventually comprised of over 350 guest rooms, a barber shop, dance and photography studios, pool room, music hall, bowling alley, dining facilities, fire sprinkler system and elevators, served as the crown jewel of the resort grounds. Its design and amenities were used to develop several other Hiram Ricker & Sons operated hotels, including the Samoset and the Mt. Kineo House.

The resort also took an unprecedented step in 1894 when it purchased the Maine State Building from the state. The building, constructed of granite, hardwoods, and slate from Maine, was originally constructed as the state entry for the Columbian Exposition or Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893. Designed by Lewiston native Charles Sumner Frost, the building was purchased by the Rickers, disassembled, transported to Poland Spring, reassembled and dedicated for use as a library and art gallery for the resort guests. It remains as one of only a handful of buildings left from the almost 200 that comprised the grand and historic fair.

In 1895, the family opened a nine-hole golf course, one of the first in the state, after commissioning Arthur Fenn as its designer. Fenn, considered by some to be the first American born professional golfer and course designer stayed on for many years as the golf pro at the resort. By the early twentieth century, the resort desired a modernization of the course and contracted with Donald Ross to redesign the course and expand it to eighteen holes. Ross is recognized as one of the most celebrated golf architects of all times and designed, re-designed, or expanded eleven courses in the state, the one at Poland Spring being the oldest.

In 1907, Hiram Ricker and Sons Co. opened a new bottling plant and springhouse on their property. This was perhaps the most modern bottling facility of its time, installed with glass and silver piping, non-porous Cararra glass for easy cleaning, and even showers for the workers to use prior to beginning their shift. The company was able to churn out over 450 cases of water per shift and continued their dominance in the water business.
The 1930s were not kind years for anyone, including the Ricker family. Eventually losing control over their empire, the resort and water company was owned by severaliterations of business consortiums. In 1962, Saul Feldman purchased the resort and built a new inn on the grounds. He tried to attract a new clientele and offered modern amenities. In order to increase his profits, he leased the Poland Spring House and other buildings on the grounds to the US government for use by the Job Corps program. When the program opened in 1966, Poland Spring was the site of the largest women’s training center in the country. With several thousand individuals coming and going, the wear and tear took its toll and then the Job Corps left the grounds in 1969, the Poland Spring House was closed and not used as a hotel again.

In 1972, Mel Robbins came to Poland Spring to develop condominiums but instead fell in love with the historic character and the potential of the property and began leasing the hotels from Mr. Feldman. In 1975, the Poland Spring House burned to the ground and in 1977 the Maine State Building and All Souls Chapel were donated to the Poland Spring Preservation Society.

In 1982, Mel and Cyndi Robbins purchased the property from the Feldmans and have steadily maintained and preserved Poland Spring life over the course of the past three decades.

The famed Source