“Pure as Sunshine”
Sun-Rise started as a beverage line created by a soft drink manufacturer and bottler called the Tazewell Manufacturing Company. The company was started in 1910 by W. A. Scott and was located in North Tazewell, Virginia. The Sun-Rise line was developed as a group of fruit-flavored soft drinks in addition to a root beer flavor. Some of the other flavors available in the Sun-Rise line were Strawberry, Orange, Black Cherry and Lemon Sour flavors.
In 1922 the company name was changed to The Was-Cott Corporation, after their most famous soft drink, Was-Cott Ginger-Ale. The name changed again in 1931 to the Sun Rise Bottling Company, when the company was sold to James G. Buston. They started three new drink brands: Chro-Mo, Tazewell Orange and 2 To 1. They also continued to make the Sun Rise Beverages line.
In 1956 Sun Rise Beverages was sold and relocated. The new Sun-Rise Incorporated was now located in Marshall, Minnesota. The brand went national with the help of the Coca-Cola Company that took over the bottling and distribution of the Sun-Rise line.
I have been able to determine that Sun-Rise soda was around into the 1970s. If you have additional information to add, please blog-in and share it.
Sun-Rise, Inc.
North Tazewell, Virginia
It is still produced by the Coca-Cola bottler in Winona,MN
MIke,
Thank-you for the info! It’s great to hear that some of the old soda brands are still being made today. Although, as you have stated, a lot of them are now owned by the giants of soda manufacturing.
I found a sun-rise beverage bottle while replacing pasture fence. It says bottled under authority of sun-rise inc. It may be a 1976 bottle. I can’t find any information on identifying the age of the bottle. There is a 76 on the bottom of the bottle.
Oh yes I live in Mississippi.
I have a couple of Sun Rise soda bottles that are dated 1954 and are from Minnesota. Although these dates do not match up with yours an easy explanation would be that Sunrise acquired some bottles that were already a few years old in Minnesota to bottle their drink.
Thanks for the good article. I did not know that the Tazwell sunrise was connected to the Minnesota bottles.