Community Corner

Antique Bottle From 1880s Links Dundalk, MD To Dundalk, Ireland

An antique bottle of sparking tonic water from Ireland embossed with the manufacturer's hometown of Dundalk—the namesake of our Maryland home—was discovered several years ago by a local collector.

Vincent Sala has been finding and collecting local Native American artifacts for years in the Dundalk area, making most of his discoveries near Bear Creek. Over the years, he’s found 8,000-10,000-year-old arrowheads, spear points and tool forms likely belonging to native Maryland Algonquin tribes, such as the Piscataways, the Patuxents and Chopticans.

Once he found a tooth belonging to 1.5 million-year-old Megalodon shark, authenticated by the Smithsonian.

Several years ago, Sala made a discovery at the Squirrel’s Nest, a former antique and collectible shop in Essex, that ties Dundalk’s pre-history, Native American-history and modern history together.

Find out what's happening in Dundalkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sala’s find: a sparking tonic glass bottle from late 19th century Ireland—Dundalk, Ireland. The bottle was likely brought over with early Irish immigrants to our Dundalk, founded by Irishman Henry McShane—originally from Dundalk, Ireland, of course.

Sala had the bottle authenticated by the Baltimore Antique Bottle Club before purchasing it from the Squirrel’s Nest for $25. The owners from the Squirrel’s Nest told Sala that the bottle had come from a local family’s estate sale many years ago.

Find out what's happening in Dundalkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The bottle label, in very good condition, advertises the sparking tonic’s “phosphorus, fruit and iron.”

The label describes the beverage as “A Sparking Tonic. Containing Valuable Bone, Nerve, and Brain Food.”

The Dundalk-Patapsco Neck Historical Society said it was not aware of any similar local artifacts in existence that were brought to Dundalk from Irish immigrants from Dundalk, Ireland before the turn of the century. Though he’s Italian, Sala contacted a Patch reporter about the bottle because he thought it’d make a nice local St. Patrick’s Day story—connecting the annual celebration to the town’s historic founding by Irish immigrants.

“It’s not the value of the bottle that’s important to me,” said Sala, a retired Baltimore County Public Schools employee. “It’s part of Dundalk itself.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here